The Lady of the Flies
by InsanityIncarnate90
Summary: As her reward for saving the world from Scion, Taylor is killed by Contessa and sent to hell. It doesn't turn out to be as bad as it sounds. Post-GM. Queen Taylor.
1. Prologue Part 1

Worm and Highschool DxD are property of their respective owners.

* * *

Rias was frustrated. It was her twelfth birthday and she was stuck here dealing with well wishers and sycophants who wanted to curry favor with her brother or father, or, at best, wanted to make an impression on her as the heir to the house of Gremory.

Sure she knew that this was expected of her as part of being the heir, and to be quite honest she actually enjoyed the attention for the most part. She also was aware that she was being unfair to the guests, many of them she knew personally and they were here only because they were friends wanting nothing more than to help her celebrate. But none of that mattered as today she had already been given the greatest gift possible and she wanted nothing more than to sequester herself away and inspect them.

For yesterday her mother and father had determined that she was old enough to begin her own peerage. Immediately they had set off taking her to the Kings Monument and registering her as a King. Then this morning after the pieces had been bound to her very soul they had given them to her, her very own Evil Pieces.

Fanciful ideas were already spreading through her mind of what her peerage would be like. They would be great warriors and loyal companions, like the characters in all that anime she had watched.

'Actually' she thought to herself 'maybe I should start my search in Japan. They already seem to have the idea of what I am looking for.'

Finally spotting her chance as the crowd reacted to her brother walking in, she made good on her escape. Going out to an isolated part of the garden she glanced around looking to see if anyone had followed her.

Satisfied she set down her case and opened it looking at all fifteen of her Evil Pieces. Slowly, almost daintily as if worried it would break, she reached in and picked up her Queen piece. It was a white piece in the Staunton style, nothing obviously important about it, but she could feel the power radiating from it, the power to reincarnate the other races as devils, the power to defy death and bring back the recently deceased, and the power to mark them as her servants.

'No' she thought, 'not servants, but companions.' Servants are people she could hire, her peerage would be her family in every way that mattered. She would be their leader not their owner.

As she was thinking right in front of her a portal opened. Not like the magic circles she was used to seeing devils use to transport themselves, but almost like a door she could not see had been opened up and now she was peering through.

Standing in the portal was a young woman who appeared to be in her late teens or early twenties. She was quite thin and had dark curly hair that went past her shoulders. She was dressed in a black bodysuit with white armored panels. Her right arm was gone entirely and her body was twitching as if she was struggling to properly control it. But it was her eyes that captured Rias the most, dark brown almost to the point of being black, and they carried an exhaustion that was almost palpable, as if she had just run a marathon towing the entire world the whole way.

Then Rias noticed that behind the brunette she could see another woman. She was older than the first and dressed in a tailored suit and hat. In her hand she had a pistol pointed at the back of the head of the other woman's head.

Realizing what she was about to witness Rias attempted to call out warning, to summon her power, to do anything to stop the situation unfolding in front of her. But she found herself stuck as if some force was preventing her from moving so much as a single muscle.

Suddenly two loud gunshots rang out and two bloody eruptions emerged from the brunette's head. As the brunette collapsed through the portal Rias found herself once again in control of her body. She rushed forward only for the portal to snap shut right in front of her leaving only the corpse at her feet.

Looking down at the body Rias felt shocked at what had just occurred and was unsure what to do next. The suddenness of the event made it feel almost anticlimactic and unreal. If the proof wasn't right there in front of her she would be sure no one could die that easily. As she idly noted how much blood was seeping through the wounds in the woman's head she noticed the white queen still gripped in her hand. Taking a deep breath she made her decision.

* * *

With a start Taylor did something she was sure she never would do again and woke up. As sensations flooded through her mind she noted that she could once again only sense insects. Breathing a sigh of relief she began to take note her surroundings.

She was lying in an absolutely massive bed in a room that looked like it cost more than her father's entire house. The room was lavishly decorated and spotlessly maintained. The entire mansion was, she noted barely sensing any insects inside of it.

She then noticed that there was a girl collapsed on the bed having obviously fallen asleep watching her. The girl appeared to be in her preteens and was quite pretty. With bright red hair and a body that was obviously going to be drop dead gorgeous once puberty kicked in.

Grimacing slightly Taylor fought down thoughts of Emma, they hadn't emerged in a while and they would serve her no purpose here. Taking a breath to steady herself, she nudged the girl awake.

The girl glanced up at her with bleary eyes and then seemed to shake herself awake. A big smile crept up on her face as looked over Taylor, and then she started talking far too fast for Taylor to comprehend what was being said.

Blinking at the onslaught of noise Taylor gestured for her to stop and put on her best comforting smile saying, "Hello my name is Taylor. Do you think you can tell me what happened?"

The girl seemed to calm down a bit as she replied, "I was at my birthday party and you came out of a portal after having been shot. You were dead so I brought you back by turning you into my Queen."

"Okay ignoring that doing so seems to have resurrected me, do you normally give political power to corpses that are dropped out of portals?"

"I don't mean that type of Queen; I am your King, and you are my Queen."

Surprised by this response Taylor replied "Thanks, but you're too young for me." Almost as an afterthought, she added "And I'm not into girls."

The girl's face went as red as her hair. "Not like that like that! Let me explain - I'm a devil. We devils have the ability to bring the recently deceased back to life as devils by using objects based off of chess pieces. I used my Queen piece to revive you, making you into a devil."

Internalizing this explanation Taylor did the only thing that made sense when confronted with a situation this absurd. She laughed hoping logic would have once again reasserted itself when she was done.

* * *

 **A/N:** So this is my first ever fic. I still have problems with this chapter but I figured I would never post it if I kept trying to fix it so here it is. Criticism is welcome. I should note that I'm not really a fan of DxD but I have read some good fanfics that make use of the setting so I am not fully aware what is and is not fanon.

Edit: Thanks to Sager Hijinks over on Spacebattles for their assistance with the dialog in this chapter.


	2. Prologue Part 2

After her little fit finally subsided Taylor once again took stock of her situation. Seeing that she was still in the mansion with the now very confused little girl she decided that yes this was her reality, at least for the time being. Accepting this she focused on her body.

'Yep two legs, two arms, well I can't complain about that change hopefully I can keep it this timeI can still sense my passenger but not like it was after I had Panacea jailbreak it. I'm able to understand language again and I feel far more in control. In fact I feel great, I don't remember the last time I felt this strong.'

Then she noticed something new, it was like a pressure emanating from her. As she probed the feeling she also began to feel a similar pressure emanating from the girl. It seemed to have a different 'flavor' for lack of a better term, but she could tell it came from the same source. Closing her eyes to focus upon the feeling, she began to grasp its nature.

It was power, not in a form she had ever encountered before, but power none the less. As the power began to flood through her she understood, with this she could work her will upon the world and force it into new forms. Feeling almost giddy at the prospect she attempted to manifest just a sliver of it outside of her body only for it all to desert her retreating back to its origin.

Opening her eyes again she looked back at the girl, who now had a concerned expression on her face. As the girl opened her mouth probably to ask if she was alright or entirely sane Taylor cut her off by asking, "Okay, if I'm a devil now does that mean that I died and went to hell?"

"Well you did die but not for very long before I brought you back to life, your species just changed in the process. As for where we are this is the Gremory Estate in the Underworld, not hell."

"Okay, you know what? I think we need to start this conversation over. Hello my name is Taylor Hebert what is yours?"

"Oh how rude of me. I am Rias Gremory, the heir to the house of Gremory."

"Okay, Rias, you said you brought me back to life using a Queen piece, could you explain how that works?"

"Well millennia ago there was a great war between devils, angels, and fallen angels. As the war raged the casualties were massive, up to and including the four original Satans. With the casualties so high it was determined that if the war continued all three sides would go extinct, and so a ceasefire was established. Afterwards as we tried to recover from our losses we found that due to the low birthrate of devils our extinction was inevitable unless something drastic was done. So Ajuka Beelzebub, one of the new Satans, created the Evil Piece system allowing us to reincarnate other species into devils to bolster our numbers. The Evil Pieces are a set of talismans based off of chess pieces, and it is using them that we can reincarnate the other species and have them serve us as members of our peerage."

Upon hearing serve us Taylor tensed and cut off further explanation by asking coldly "Does that mean you just robbed me of my will?"

"No, nothing like that, it is just that while you are a new born devil your power is still unstable, during this time if you were to separate yourself from your King for too long it would overwhelm you and make you go feral. Your King acts as a stabilizing influence by their very presence and during this time you are expected to serve them as compensation for this. Once you are powerful enough to stabilize your own power you can take the exam to become a mid-class devil and then you are free to either stay in the peerage or leave at your own discretion. If you become a high-class devil you are even allowed to start a peerage of your own. Anyways I don't want you as a servant I want you to be my companion."

While listening to this Taylor discretely moved one of the mosquitoes she had been gathering in the vents and landed it onto Rias ordering it to bite her. Feeling no resistance to her 'attack' on her King she relaxed marginally but all further discussion was cut off as the door to the room opened and a man walked in.

He was tall and quite handsome, dressed in an immaculately tailored suit. His most striking feature had to be his hair; it was shoulder length and precisely the same shade of red as Rias'. But none of that was what she noticed when he entered for the pressure he emanated drove thoughts of anything else straight out of her mind. It became hard to breath, and comparing the pittance of power she was emanating to what she was sensing off of him she now knew what it felt like to be a candle sitting next to the sun.

Upon seeing the man who had just entered Rias' face lit up in the biggest smile Taylor had seen yet.

"Brother let me introduce you. This is Taylor Hebert my new Queen, Taylor this is Sirzechs Lucifer my older brother and one of the four Satans."

Lucifer gave Taylor a wide grin that didn't seem to reach his eyes. "It is good to meet you Taylor." Then refocusing his attention he said "Rias, I know you're excited about your new Queen but you left yesterdays party quite suddenly and many of the guests were worried. Sona in particular wishes to speak with you, why don't you go out and talk with them. I'll stay here and keep your Queen company, I have something I wish to discuss with her anyway."

Rias seemed to hesitate a moment before agreeing, "All right. Taylor I'll be back in a couple of hours, we can finish our talk about peerages then."

Taylor was failing to be reassured by the sentiment when Rias leaned in and in a lower tone of voice begged "Please try and make a good impression on my brother, it is important to me that my family and peerage get along."

Taylor was about to respond when the expression on Lucifer's face caught her eye. Biting back her first response she made her best attempt at a relaxed smile and nodded before replying "Sure Rias I will see you in a couple of hours."

Rias then left the room and the door clicked shut with a sound far more ominous than a door had any right to make.

Taylor looked back a Lucifer, who was now wearing a very conflicted expression. Noting that he didn't seem to be making any moves to begin the conversation Taylor decided it would be in her best interest to do so herself.

"You said there was something you wished to discuss with me?"

That seemed to snap him out of whatever internal deliberations he was having.

"Yes I want to discuss how it was you met my sister. You see on the first day since she, the heir to the house of Gremory and the sister of Lucifer, had received her Evil Pieces, only moments after she had found a way to isolate herself, a portal opens up right in front of her and she is made to witness her first death, while literally holding the tool to undo it in her hand. On inspecting the potential of this person she found that the only piece she had that would be able to properly revive them was her Queen, the piece that should go to her most trusted ally and second in command. This sequence of events seems to strain the bonds of coincidence, and even more concerning is the fact that her reaction to this was very predictable. Currently I am most of the way resolved to obliterate you where you lay but the only thing that stays my hand is that doing so would devastate my sister. So I am going to give you one chance, you are going to stay here and tell me your story and when it is complete I will decide what to do with you. But be warned if you decide to lie to me you better be very sure in your ability as I have well over a thousand years of experience in spotting liars."

Silently cursing Contessa with every fiber of her being, Taylor began going through her options. She dismissed attacking him almost immediately, while she had been gathering her swarm ever since she had awakened, it was still quite small and even if it wasn't, if the power she was feeling from him was in anyway accurate she knew it would be little more than an inconvenience to him as he destroyed her. She dismissed bluffing her way out almost as readily, his confidence that he could spot her in a lie seemed all to genuine, which meant he either had a power that could detect a lie or they weren't delusional about this whole devil thing and he really could claim one of his titles as the Prince of Lies. He seemed to care about his sister which meant she might be able to leverage Rias' safety against an escape, but she was not sure if her own life was a good enough reason for her to begin down that path once again. Plus if what Rias had said earlier was true separating herself from her would result in her power making her feral, which was not an experience she particularly wished to relive.

Deciding to hedge her bets she began moving her swarm through the vents to the room where she sensed the mosquito she had planted on Rias earlier and then began talking.

"Well I am from an alternate earth, which we referred to as Earth Bet. As for my story I guess it started in 1982 when a golden man appeared out of nowhere and changed everything."

 **A/N:** Well here is the second chapter. I'm actually quite pleased with it, I feel I did a better job with the dialog then I did in the first chapter (at least before the edits, thanks again Sager Hijinks). After this there is only one more chapter then the prologue is over.


	3. Prologue Part 3

"Well, if that story was a lie then it was definitely the most audacious one I have ever heard."

Realizing that the conversation was over and Lucifer's decision was imminent Taylor began to prepare her swarm. The conversation had taken quite a while and Taylor had amassed a sizable force in the meantime. Rias had attempted to reenter the room earlier but had been stopped by someone at the door, and was now alone in the room next door. Finding everything in order Taylor readied her ultimatum and awaited Lucifer's next move.

Seeming to notice her tension Lucifer said "Relax Taylor, I believe your story. Despite the intricacy of the tale I was unable to find holes in it and you were able to readily reply to any questions I had."

Hearing this Taylor released a small breath she had not been aware she was holding. The conversation had been tense, but she had largely been able keep things vague about herself. She only really had to go into detail about her role in the battle with Scion. She had found that she actually recalled most of it but the memories felt wrong somehow, as if they threatened to overwhelm her whenever she focused upon them.

Other than that he had made her go over her power before she had Amy break it, and reveal to him that she currently still had that ability. The two topics that truly dominated the conversation though were the threat of Scion and the actions, and abilities, of Contessa. And of the two the real point of stress had been Contessa.

"So now the only real question that I have left is what Contessa has accomplished by sending you here." Lucifer said leaning back in his seat. "But any speculation on that would be fruitless right now so instead let us discuss the future. I know you are no direct threat to my sister, and I have no problem with you serving as her queen. What I do not know is what it is that you desire."

Taylor started to consider the query. During the battle with Scion Taylor had been willing to sacrifice her future, not once but twice, in order to save the world. Firstly when she gave up her sense of self to her power, and secondly when she stranded herself in order to not replace Scion as the threat. In the lead up to the battle the future beyond it was immaterial for her, the goal in and of itself was what was important, what lay beyond it was for other people. Now she lacked that all consuming goal, she could define her future herself, and she found that fact to be almost overwhelming.

As she tried to think back to before she got her powers, at what it was she wanted before necessity had eclipsed desire as her primary motivation in life. Then she remembered an old regret, one she truly wished to rectify. She still had much she needed to say to her father. She didn't know if it was even possible for her to find a way to move between the alternate earths or even if he was still alive, but above all she felt the need for closure and for one last chance to fix that relationship that had been broken so long before.

Seeming to have realized that she had her revelation Lucifer exclaimed "Oh! Well it seems you already know what it is you desire. That makes this next part easier, I want to make a deal with you."

Lucifer leaned forward a bit then began to explain "Devils are beings intrinsically bound to temptation and desire. This also means we are bound to the result of these feelings, which is to say conflict. This is where my worry for Rias stems from. We are currently in the period of lowest conflict in the history of our kind, and in our desire for Rias to have a happy childhood my parents and I have shielded her from what of it that does exist. So what I ask of you is threefold; to be her companion beyond that of which is required of you by your debt, to help prepare her for the conflict that will inevitably come while shielding her from the worst of what is, and when she finds a desire she is willing to fight for show her what it truly means to do so. In exchange for this service I will help you fulfill your desire, within reason of course."

Sitting up and swinging her legs off of the bed Taylor considered the offer before asking "Why me? There has to be others, whom you have more experience with than a single conversation, who you can trust to prepare Rias for the future?"

"Rias chose you, any I would send could be refused out of pride. And while I do not know your whole history, I know enough. Rias will be able to accomplish great things with you by her side."

"Anyway this is not a decision I expect you to make right now. Take some time to get used to life as a devil and get to know my sister. I will schedule another visit to my family in a month's time and we can discuss your conditions then."

Lucifer then stood up and began to button and straighten his coat. "Well I am sure Rias will want her Queen back, so I am going to take my leave. Please do consider my offer."

He paused a moment until Taylor nodded, then said, "It was nice getting to know you Taylor, I will see you in a month." Then he walked out the door leaving Taylor alone in the room.

Taylor got up and stretched lightly attempting to get the kinks out of her muscles as she considered what had been happening to her. She remembered allowing Contessa to kill her guaranteeing that she would never replace Scion as the threat. She even remembered forcing Rias to watch, something she regretted in retrospect. No girl that young should be forced to witness an execution, even if they apparently could bring back the dead.

And there it was, she had been resurrected. She supposed that she might not have been dead, if anyone could shoot someone twice in the head and guarantee they did not die it was Contessa, but it did not really matter. She was awake, her injuries were gone as if they had never been there, hell she felt stronger than she ever remembered being before. Even more amazing was that her powers were back to what they were before she had Amy break them, something she claimed she would never be able to fix.

More than that though was the new power she sensed within her and emanating from Rias and Lucifer. Some instinct told her that there was so much she could do with that power, once she figured out how. She guessed if she asked about it she would be told it was because they were all devils, something she still wasn't sure how she felt about.

Part of her wanted to write it off as a delusion and assume that they were some type of power granting Trumps, but Rias referred to wars with angels that happened millennia ago, and Lucifer claimed to be over a thousand years old. She decided to hold off on that thought, if such events had occurred there would be evidence and she could ask Rias for it as apparently she would need to stick with her for a while.

That was something else she would need to verify. Losing her mind to her powers was something she did not even want to contemplate happening again, but as things were now it was a threat hanging over her head so she needed to know its authenticity.

Thinking of Rias brought her back to offer Lucifer made before he left. Getting his help in finding her father might be necessary. She didn't even know if it was possible to access other earths without Doormaker, let alone how to make the attempt. Lucifer claimed that he had political power among devils and if this mansion she was in was anything to go by his family had money, which was a power all its own. His help would increase the chances of her finding someone that is able to move between the alternate earths immensely.

Sensing Rias approaching her door she put a hold on her contemplation, she had a month before she needed to make her decision and getting to know Rias was an important part of that. Preparing herself for what would be likely another exhausting conversation Taylor waited for Rias to open the door.

* * *

As Sirzechs stepped out of the transportation circle and back into his office he was greeted by his wife. Grayfia Lucifuge was a tall woman who always seemed to be wearing a stern expression. She was also the most perfect example of beauty Sirzechs had ever seen with her grey hair split into three braids, and her perfect skin, and the soft smiles she would show just for him, and every other single thing about her. She was also currently dressed in a maid uniform which meant he needed to be careful if he didn't want her to try and rip off his face for flirting with her when she was on the job, again.

As he walked around his desk to his chair she commented, "Well you don't look like you just killed anyone, so I'm guessing your meeting with your sister's new Queen went well."

"Yes, she is definitely not a plant from one of our enemies. Beyond that though she intelligent, ruthless, and willing to sacrifice anything to protect those she is loyal to, before she became a devil she sacrificed every aspect of herself to kill a being that was at least on par with Great Red."

Grayfia looked at him with an expression of pure shock. "She is that powerful! What did she kill? Why haven't we heard of her before now?"

"She isn't that powerful anymore, to do so she needed another to break the power she did have and it cost her sanity. Even then the power she actually used to kill the being was stolen from others; she was just the mind that directed it. As for why we have not heard of her, she is apparently from another reality. She was dropped here by the most powerful precognitive I have ever heard of, after she completed the task. Anyway I need you to set up a meeting with Ajuka, I need to know if he knows anything about alternate realities or ways to counter precognitives."

The instructions seemed to snap Grayfia back to her usual demeanor. She bowed slightly before saying "I will arrange the meeting. Anyway in the time you have been gone quite a bit of work has piled up."

She went to the office door opening it and making a small gesture. A line of attendants walked in, each carrying a stack of paper. They each came to his desk neatly dropping their stack into his inbox. "I will be back after I arrange the meeting with Ajuka, please make sure you have made at least some progress on that by the time I return." Grayfia warned before briskly following the attendants out.

Sirzechs looked at the stack of paper in his inbox and once again wondered why he ever though it would be a good idea to become the Lucifer. But even as he reached for the first sheet his mind had already wandered, 'A nearly infinite number of worlds untouched by God, what else might be hiding there?'

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm going to give a quick explanation for why Sirzechs has such a good read on Taylor despite the fact that is notoriously difficult to do. Part of it is that Taylor is still in shock she is mostly rational but it is making it difficult for her to offload her emotions, the bigger issue though is that her aura is fluctuating with her emotions, giving her a tell she isn't aware of. If this conversation had occurred even a couple of weeks later then she would have been much more difficult for Sirzechs to read.


	4. Bonding

_2 Days since resurrection_

'Demonic power is bullshit,' Taylor thought as she looked at the intricate circle laid out in front of her.

The thought had become something of a mantra for Taylor over the last hour that Rias had been explaining what had changed in Taylor now that she was a devil. As a power fueled by the imagination, its applications seemed limited only by the amount of it one possessed. To top it off a person's reserves could be increased through training.

In addition, a form of mathematics could be applied to demonic power, allowing for the user to cut down on the amount necessary to achieve specific effects. The circle that Rias was creating right now was a transportation circle. A common means of teleportation, which Rias then demonstrated by sending herself to the far side of the garden.

As Rias began walking back over to her, Taylor's eyes drifted to the metal target that had been set up before they had arrived. As she looked over the scorch marks that had been created by the small fireball Rias had thrown in one of her earlier demonstrations, Taylor contemplated a single question: 'Where were they during the battle with Scion?'

So far, Rias had demonstrated the equivalent of mover and blaster capabilities, in addition to the trump aspect she had from granting these powers to Taylor, as well as whatever rating the PRT would stick her with for resurrecting the dead. Cauldron would have slaughtered nations for access to this, especially if Rias and Lucifer hadn't been lying and there was an entire species with these abilities. Contessa's path could apparently predict them, given that she'd dumped Taylor here after the battle, so why hadn't they been there? The only solution Taylor could come up with was that something in this reality had scared Scion enough to lock it off, and wasn't that just the most comforting thought.

Rias arrived back at her side and continued her lecture. "The last aspect of demonic power is bloodline powers." She stretched out an arm in front of her, palm upwards. "These are abilities that cannot be learned or duplicated by any means; they must be inherited. As an example, I inherited the Power of Destruction from my mother."

As Rias finished, a ball of pure darkness that reminded Taylor of Brian's power appeared over her palm. She shifted and took aim at the target, and the ball flew forth, expanding as it did so. Taylor watched as the ball enveloped the target. When it disappeared, it left nothing behind.

She mentally upped Rias's blaster rating half dozen ranks and resolved to be very careful about how far she pushed her luck with Lucifer. Taylor glanced at Rias, who had an expression brimming with curiosity that Taylor had already learned to associate with an upcoming question about her past.

"So, what's your ability? I know you don't like discussing your past, but as a member of my peerage you'll be participating in ratings games, so I need to know what it is you can do." Rias spoke in a tone that made it obvious that she had been practicing the request.

Taylor crossed her arms, "What makes you think I have an ability?"

In response, Rias showed her a pair of puppy dog eyes that probably deserved a master rating. " _Please_ tell me, it's important that we trust each other at least that much. It took my queen to revive you; you have too much potential to not have some type of power."

Taylor decided to acquiesce. She would need to tell Rias eventually anyway, and this would help buy some trust. Still, it paid to be underestimated, at least at first, so a small demonstration should suffice. Luckily, her power was never one that sounded impressive.

She reached out to some butterflies that were floating lazily in the garden, summoning them to fly in a small circle above the palm of her hand. She looked at Rias and explained, "I can control insects."

Rias's eyes went wide. "That's amazing! No one has had that ability since the death of the original Beelzebub. How do you do it? I didn't sense any magic from you. Do you have a Sacred Gear?"

Taylor, rather taken aback, responded, "It isn't that impressive."

Rias spoke in a somewhat stunned voice, "During the Great War, Beelzebub would unleash massive swarms of locusts, destroying the crops of humans allied with heaven and the Grigori, not to mention using them for intelligence gathering. His death was considered one of the largest strategic losses we suffered during the war."

Taylor's reaction to this was split. It seemed downplaying her power would be difficult, since people would associate it with a famously powerful figure. On the upside, getting a reputation as an opponent not to be trifled with would be easier. She made a note to look into Beelzebub. Learning how he used his swarm would allow her to better build off of his reputation.

As always, what Taylor needed was more information. Speaking of which... "What's a Sacred Gear?"

"You've never heard of them? I though you would have, since I'd never heard of the portal you fell out of after you…" Rias cut herself off abruptly, looking flustered, before moving on, "Anyway, Sacred Gears are artifacts created by God and implanted in certain humans at birth, granting them special abilities. Most of their wielders have gone on to become very influential people. I've never heard of one that grants control over insects before, but I'm hardly an authority on the matter."

Artifacts implanted in people by a god granting them special abilities. The idea was unsettlingly reminiscent of Scion. Still, it was convenient. It gave her a ready excuse for her power that would not raise too many eyebrows.

As Rias finished talking, she began leading them out of the garden. "Come on, lunch should be ready soon. You can ask any more questions you have while we eat."

* * *

 _6 days since resurrection_

Taylor felt a brief moment of disorientation as her mind instantly connected to the surrounding insects. It seemed she could add transportation circles to her list of teleportation methods that were painful with her powers. Considering they were apparently the preferred method of transportation for devils, she was going to need to find a way to minimize the disorientation.

Shaking off the effect, Taylor began to take in her surroundings. She was standing on a small raised platform in the middle of a city. She was obviously in the downtown area with skyscrapers lining the streets. It would have reminded her of Brockton Bay but for one key difference: where her home city's downtown had been a façade built up to hide the city's decay, this one was genuine.

Within her entire range there was near constant activity, people moving around and going about their daily lives. Even the areas that weren't currently occupied showed the tell tale signs of use. She couldn't find a single abandoned building in her entire range. It was clear that this city was doing better than any she had seen on Earth Bet.

The other obvious difference between here and the cities she was used to was the presence of air traffic. Quite a number of people seemed to be flying to their destinations instead of just walking. There was also the amount of demonic power she was sensing. The entire area was saturated with it, to the point that she was sure she would be unable to pick out the individual auras without her passenger helping out with the multitasking. All in all, it was the most compelling argument Taylor had yet encountered for the devils being a species like Rias had said.

As she left the platform, Rias grabbed her hand and started guiding her down one of the streets. They had come to the city to resolve a minor issue Taylor had been having: clothing. She'd been getting by with borrowing clothes from one of the servants, but she needed some of her own. When she had asked Rias about acquiring some, Rias had insisted on making a day trip of it and taking Taylor to the city for some shopping.

Apparently reaching their destination, Rias came to a stop. Taylor looked into the windows of the shop she had been dragged to and saw mannequins wearing some of the most extravagant gowns she had ever seen. Above the door was a sign declaring the name of the store to be _Glamour_.

Taylor glanced at Rias, saying, "When I said I needed clothing, this wasn't what I meant."

Rias smiled back. "We'll get to that. We need to stop here first since it'll be a custom order, and the measurements they take will be useful for the rest of the shopping anyway."

"That still doesn't explain why you think I'll need a dress like one of these."

Rias replied in that lecturing tone she seemed to use whenever Taylor asked any questions about devil society. "As my Queen, it's expected that you will accompany me to any social events I attend. As for this dress in particular, it's because we're hosting a small party at the Gremory Estate in a couple of weeks, and you'll be publicly introduced there."

Before Taylor could reply, Rias opened the door to the shop and pulled her inside. Upon entering, a woman appearing to be in her late twenties walked out of a back room to greet them. She looked at Taylor, her eyes lingering on her clothes, before saying, "If you are here to pick up a delivery, you should have come in the back."

Rias seemed to ignore the implied insult, responding, "She's here for a fitting. Taylor, this is Eliza Fay; she's the best seamstress in the city. Eliza, this is Taylor Hebert, my Queen."

Upon seeing Rias, Eliza's eyes went wide for an instant before a practiced smile appeared upon her face. "Miss Gremory. It is good to see you. Miss Hebert, is it? If you would both come with me to the back, we can get started."

* * *

"Well that was fun!" Taylor looked up from the remains of her food and across the table of the diner at Rias, who had a big smile on her face. "I always wanted to just go out shopping with a friend."

Taylor smiled back. The day _had_ been fun. At least it had been after she ditched the servant from the estate that had been tailing them. After leaving Glamour, Rias had been true to her word, and they had gone and picked up a practical wardrobe for Taylor to wear. It had been years since the last time she'd been able to take a day to relax, and Rias was easy company to keep. It reminded her of the first shopping trip she took with the Undersiders all those years ago.

"You've never done this before? You certainly seemed to know your way around the district."

"It is not that I haven't been out shopping before, it's that when I did so in the past, I was always sent out with my family's servants to protect me." Well, that explained the tail. Her tone dropped some as she continued, "It was nice to get a chance to go out as Rias rather than the heir of Gremory."

Taylor tilted her head in contemplation"I had a friend once...her parents viewed her as nothing but a resource to be used for their own profit. I've seen the way you interact with your parents; trust me when I say you're not having the same issue as her. They're just concerned because of your age. Give them some time, and they'll give you more freedom. There are worse things than having your parents pay too much attention to what's going on in your life."

Taylor got up out of the booth and Rias got up to meet her, surprising Taylor with a hug. "Thank you for sharing," she said softly. Rias let go and grabbed her hand. "Let's go back home."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks to my beta GlassGirlCeci it would be impossible to overstate the amount of an improvement this chapter undergone with her help. This chapter has had more rewrites than the other three combined. It has had entirely different events, Akeno showed up in one draft, each of the three sections waere written from Rias' perspective at one point, and it used to end where my next chapter will since I decided to add more details and split that chapter off onto its own. Overall it has been a massive pain and I am still not completely happy with the finished product, though if we waited until I was I would actually post it shortly after the Earth was enveloped by the Sun.

Thank you all for your interest and as always criticism is welcome.


	5. Debut

_22 days since resurrection_

Rias began to wonder once again why she had volunteered for this torture. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time. Taylor was such a private person, but a shared activity to help build rapport seemed like just the solution Rias had been looking for. So when Taylor had come to her asking if she knew any trails that would work as a good running path, Rias had insisted on joining her for her morning runs.

And it _had_ worked. The runs seemed to relax Taylor, and she would open up slightly. Not about anything significant, like what events led her to falling out of that portal (something which Rias could not blame her for despite her curiosity; any series of events that ends with one getting shot in the head has to be traumatic, after all). Little things though, like commiserating with Rias on how painful running is when you're just starting out, or mentioning how nice the paths here were versus the ones in her home city. Rias had even gotten her to expound some on what the city was like...she had a picture of it being quite the dangerous place. It wasn't much, but it was progress, and Rias was sure more would come with time.

Still though, who in their right mind got up before five every morning and did this to themselves on purpose? The worst part was that once they finished running their path, Taylor would drop her off and then run it again in half the time. Rias wanted to chalk it up to her queen piece increasing her speed and stamina, but she knew Taylor still hadn't quite finished adjusting to the bonuses the piece granted her, so there would be obvious signs if she was using it like that.

Seeing the end of the route coming up, Rias almost sagged with relief. Pushing herself across the line, she went straight for her water. She watched her Queen go off for the second part of her run as she indulged in the sweet relief of the cold water, and resolved to reach the point where she could join in both parts of the run, for her pride if nothing else.

As Rias began the stretching routine Taylor had taught her, she began to consider the rest of the day. Today was the day of the party; it would be Taylor's introduction to devil society, but in many ways it would also be her own. She would not be there just as the heir of Gremory, but also as the King of her own peerage. She felt the nervousness that had been pushed out by the run come flooding back.

She took a deep breath and steadied herself. She had been coached for these scenarios all her life, and while Taylor didn't seem enthusiastic about the situation, she did seem willing. More than that, though, Taylor was impressive; something in her awareness and the way she held herself reminded Rias of her brother and his peerage. They would make an excellent debut.

'Still,' she decided as she finished with her routine, 'it wouldn't be a bad idea to go over the plans for the evening with her one more time. I'll bring it up in the bath after she finishes up.'

* * *

Taylor began to wonder once again why she had agreed to this torture. She had already been sitting here for half an hour as servants of the estate surrounded her, fixing her hair, applying makeup, and performing whatever other tasks they deemed necessary to make sure she would be ready for the party.

Taylor was not looking forward to it; while she had attended a couple of charity events during her time as a Ward, she had always done so as Weaver, and the difference that made could not be overstated. As Weaver, she'd had her reputation, both from her time as Skitter and from her performance as a Ward, as well as her nature as a parahuman making her one of the most dangerous people in the room.

Here she had no reputation already built, and even worse, she would probably be one of the weakest people in the room, given how recently she had been reincarnated. Still, this was as ideal a situation as could be arranged; everyone present would be allies of House Gremory, and she would not need to deal with people attempting to use her as a way to get on their good side. The evening was planned out, and she should walk away from this with a solid foundation from which to build her reputation.

Currently, though, she was wishing she could attend as Weaver for a more basic reason. As Weaver, the total preparation for parties was to make sure her costume was clean, rather than the process she was currently going through, the details of which she had long since lost track. After what felt like ages, the servants pulled away and presented her a mirror to inspect herself.

She almost dropped her jaw in shock. She was wearing a dark red dress with a high neckline and a hem that almost went to the ground. Chaotic patterns of black were strategically placed, giving the impression of curves she was sure she did not have. The makeup on her face seemed to give it a definition she had always lacked, and seemed to fix the proportions she always felt were off. Her hair flowed freely past her shoulders, but it seemed sleeker than she was used to. The ensemble gave her a look of elegance and refinement that she had never associated with herself. She still didn't think she looked as good as the model level looks of all the devils, unsurprising given that they all had some amount of shape shifting ability, but it was still better than she had ever associated with herself.

In the back of her mind, she could almost hear Glenn going over the look, explaining the purpose of each element and what the goal was. She began to school her expression, adopting a look of calm confidence. She could work with this. While it showed off more than she was used to, it was still the same as her costume as Weaver: a dress meant to control public opinion over anything else.

As she was admiring herself in the mirror, Rias walked in. She was wearing a black dress with red highlights. It gave her a look of someone more mature than her age would suggest.

Rias took a second to inspect Taylor before smiling and saying, "That dress really does look great on you, Taylor."

Taylor smiled back. "You look quite good yourself, Rias."

Rias's expression grew nervous. "Most of the guests have arrived. We'll be entering shortly."

Taylor stepped forward and put her hand on Rias's shoulder, bending down to look her in the eye. "Don't worry; I know how hard you've been preparing for this. Just stay calm and everything will be alright."

* * *

Taylor laughed politely at some inane thing one of the girls she was talking to said. The evening had gone well so far. After entering the ballroom, she had shadowed Rias for a while as she was introduced to the heads of the various clans and other important people. As expected, the focus of the conversation with them was Rias, which was convenient, as it meant she didn't need to deflect any questions about her past. After that, Taylor was introduced to a girl Rias's age with short dark hair named Sona Sitri. They had a more substantial conversation, then Rias and Sona went off, leaving her on her own.

It was a necessary move. If she wanted to be taken as anything more than just an aspect of Rias's power, Taylor needed to create her own image separate from Rias early on. It was still annoying, since now she had to deal with probing questions and mindless small talk.

As Taylor pretended to listen to more inane rambling, she noticed a disturbance in the way the crowd moved, and it was approaching her quickly. She moved slightly to get a better view, and saw a young man coming near. He was tall and had short, untamed black hair. From what she could tell through his suit, he was well-muscled, but built like someone who used their strength rather than someone who worked out just to show off. He moved with poise and balance that belied training; Taylor would bet her left arm that he was a trained fighter. His velvet eyes were locked on her, leaving no doubt as to where he was headed.

Even with all that, the most noticeable thing to Taylor was how the crowd was reacting to his presence. Everyone seemed to move aside when they noticed him, as though they did not want any observers associating them with him. It reminded Taylor of how the students treated her at Winslow, not wanting to risk becoming a target of the Trio's ire.

As the young man finished his approach, Taylor heard the girls she had been talking to make some quick excuses and leave. Once he arrived, the young man smiled, held out his hand, and said, "I am Sairaorg Bael. It is good to meet my cousin's new Queen."

Taking his hand, Taylor politely returned his smile and replied, "I'm Taylor Hebert. It's always nice to meet more of Rias's family."

"I have something I wish to discuss with you; would you be so kind as to join me in the Garden so we can talk?"

Taylor considered. He obviously was something of a pariah, so this could have a negative impact on her reputation. He was also family to Rias, though, so that would offset it. More importantly, it annoyed her to see the way the younger devils seemed to be treating him; it had all the telltale signs of the willful ignorance she dealt with at Winslow. Making her decision, she had the fly that she had hidden near Rias's ear buzz in their pre-arranged signal so Rias would be aware of the development.

She nodded at Sairaorg. "Lead the way."

After following him out to the garden, Taylor asked, "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Sairaorg showed her a confident smile. "Nothing in particular. I just saw you looking uncomfortable. You hid it well, but you reminded me of someone preparing for a fight whenever somebody new approached you. I figured it would help you relax some if you got away from the crowd."

His expression became more nervous as he continued, "I was also wondering if you would be interested in attending a Ratings Game. My first one is coming up, and I don't have many people to invite."

Taylor felt confused by the request. If he just wanted to invite her to a game, he could have gone through Rias; she was his cousin, he would know her better. Then the realization struck her: apparently she looked better in this dress then she had given herself credit for.

Before she could even decide how to respond the crowd inside the ballroom began shifting. She noticed a sizable group, including Rias, approaching the garden.

Taylor narrowed her eyes, "How about we finish this later? We're about to get some company."

* * *

Rias heard two buzzes from the fly hidden in her hair. It meant that something Taylor wasn't sure about happened but she didn't think she needed help. Glancing over to where she was standing, she saw Taylor talking to Sairaorg of all people. It was rare for her cousin to attend parties like this, though she knew her mother made a point of inviting him since she didn't approve of the way her brother treated him.

Apparently her glance had not gone unnoticed, as she heard a snide voice ask, "Is that your Queen Sairaorg is talking to?"

She looked for the source of the voice and saw a blonde young man dressed in a red suit with a mocking smile on his face. Wracking her brain, she identified him as Riser Phenex. He was the third son of the Phenex clan, but the rumors were that he had fully inherited the power of the Phoenix, so expectations were high for him in the Ratings Games.

Stiffly Rias replied, "Yes, she is."

"Well, Riser must say she doesn't look like much, and it seems she can't read a room if she is going off with Sairaorg."

Rias felt her eyes narrow. "I'd watch your tongue if I were you. That was _very_ close to insulting both a member of my peerage and a member of my family."

Riser gestured apologetically but his expression never changed, "Riser meant no offense! It is simply strange that no one has ever heard of your new Queen before. How do you plan on winning Ratings Games if your Queen is merely a reincarnated human? Surely you don't wish to bring shame to your family."

Rias felt rage building up at the insinuation. Taylor was not some insignificant human, and Rias _would_ bring honor to her family during the Ratings Games. Angrily, she replied, "Taylor isn't just a normal human; she possesses a Sacred Gear that lets her use Beelzebub's lost power, Dominion Over Insects."

Riser smirked at her. "Well now, that is impressive, but Riser has never heard of such a Sacred Gear. Why don't we go and ask for a demonstration?"

As Riser turned towards the garden, Rias realized what she had just given away. The insults had been a ploy to get her to give away information about Taylor, and she had walked right into it.

Furious with herself for falling for such a ruse but seeing no alternative, she went with the crowd toward the garden. Upon arriving, she saw Taylor standing with Sairaorg looking like she had been waiting for the crowd to arrive.

Riser spoke up. "Taylor, I don't believe we have been introduced. My name is Riser Phenex. Riser was speaking with Rias, and she said that you have the most _fascinating_ Sacred Gear, possessing Beelzebub's lost power. None of us had ever heard of such a Sacred Gear, and were wondering if you could give us a demonstration of its power."

Taylor looked directly at Rias, who felt heat flood her face at the gaze. Realizing what she was waiting for, Rias nodded.

A cacophony of noise suddenly assaulted the group. As she looked around for the source, Rias saw swarms of insects approaching them from all sides. The swarms merged and surrounded the group, forming into a tight vortex. In the center of the vortex hundreds of fireflies began performing a coordinated dance, making quite the dazzling display.

Suddenly, the noise from the swarm began to harmonize and then became a voice. The voice of the swarm asked, "So, Riser, does this demonstration satisfy your curiosity?"

Before Rias could hear his response, she felt an arm on her shoulder, and turned around to see Taylor holding a finger to her lips. Taylor pulled slightly and Rias followed her into the swarm.

Walking through the swarm was a strange experience, as almost none of the bugs even touched her. Upon exiting, Taylor led Rias into the estate. As they were leaving, she could hear the voice of the swarm say, "I'm glad that it was to your liking, but I'm going to retire for the evening. I'm sure we'll have another chance to talk further."

Rias followed Taylor to her room. After shutting the door, she looked at Taylor and started almost stumbling over herself to apologize. "I'm sorry about telling Riser. He said that my selection of you as my Queen would bring shame to my family, and I got angry and replied without thinking. I'm pretty sure it was a plan on his part to get more information about you."

Taylor sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her. Rias walked over and sat at the indicated location. Taylor looked right in Rias eyes and said, "It's okay Rias...that was going to get out sooner than later anyway. We'll just need to work on how you respond to provocations in the future."

Taylor then gave Rias a small hug. "Just calm down. Let's get out of these dresses and turn in for an early night; we can discuss the party in the morning."

Rias hugged Taylor back, feeling slightly better. "Can we sleep together tonight? It'll help me, having someone to sleep with."

Taylor hesitated for a second before replying, "That's fine Rias. Come on then, let's change into our night clothes and get to bed."

* * *

 _34 days since resurrection_

Taylor walked into one of the estate's offices to see Lucifer sitting at a desk doing some paperwork, while a woman in a maid uniform watched over him.

"I heard you called for me."

Lucifer looked up and smiled upon seeing her before putting down his pen. "Yes. I was just finishing up some last minute work that Grayfia here brought me, but it can wait while we finish our discussion from last time."

Taylor glanced at Grayfia, who seemed to now be glaring at Lucifer, before asking, "Can we have some privacy?"

Lucifer looked surprised for an instant before smiling. "Ah, you two have never been introduced. Grayfia, this is Taylor, my sister's Queen. Taylor, this Grayfia, my own Queen as well as my wife. I don't keep any secrets from her. Isn't that right Dear?"

Grayfia gave Taylor a polite bow before walking over to Lucifer and pulling on his cheek hard. "While I'm working I am your _head maid_ , not your wife."

As Taylor watched her image of the ruler of Hell shatter into a million pieces, she thought about what he had just said. While she wasn't thrilled with the fact he had shared details of her past with someone else, it wasn't like she had been able to get a promise from him not to. Resigning herself to Grayfia's presence, she decided to move on.

"The deal was that I would become a companion for Rias beyond what's required by our bond, protect Rias and train her for future conflicts, and show Rias what it means to actually pursue a goal once she finds one. In exchange for that, you would help me with my own goal."

Lucifer, having freed his face from Grayfia's clutches, nodded. "That about sums it up; I'm sure we can work out the details once you tell me what your goal is."

Taylor hesitated. She really did want a chance to see her father again, and going through the library, she hadn't found anything indicating knowledge of other Earths. Pursuing the goal by herself would likely take long enough that her father would be dead by the time she arrived. Resigning herself to needing Lucifer's help, she responded, "I want help finding my home reality so that I can see my father again."

A wide smile appeared on Lucifer's face. "Offered anything you want by one of the Four Satans, and you choose family. Rias's discovery of you may have been a plan from Contessa, but I can't deny my happiness with the result."

His expression became more serious as he continued, "Still, that is a difficult favor, and not one I can assure you that I will be able to meet. Are you fine with that?"

Taylor had prepared herself for that possibility, so she replied, "That's fine as long as a true effort is made."

"In that case, I have no problems with the deal. However, I do know of a way to increase our odds. Ajuka Beelzebub, another of the Four Satans, is our most brilliant scientist. I have already told him about the existence of other realities, and if you are willing to meet with him and answer some technical questions about your reality, I am sure it would help the research immensely."

Noticing Taylor's expression, Lucifer hurriedly added, "I did not mention you at all; I wanted him to start looking into it since the Entity you spoke of represented a threat, and we need to be prepared for any more that might stem from those realities."

Accepting his excuse, Taylor moved on. "If you really think it'll help, and the questions aren't personal ones, I'm willing to meet with him."

Lucifer then got up from his desk and walked over to Taylor, offering his hand. "Then do we have a deal?"

Taylor accepted it, thinking to herself, 'With my life, why am I even surprised? What's one more Deal with the Devil?'

* * *

 **A/N:** Once again thanks to my beta reader GlassGirlCeci, her contributions are as amazing as always. I don't have too much to say about this chapter other than Sairaorg's name being the most annoying thing to type ever. For the next chapter you can expect a series of increasingly large time skips so I can move to the meat of the story. I also am going to be writing my first action scene ever for it, so I am hoping that turns out well. I plan to release it the weekend after next.

As always criticism is welcome.


	6. Peerage Part 1

_4 months since resurrection_

Akeno was terrified. She knew she should have stayed low. She had been on the run since she was ten, over a year now. She knew the routine—only get involved when you've arranged for payment and know you are the only one who will be there. But when she had seen those evil spirits attacking that man so viciously, she'd jumped in without thinking about it.

After purifying the spirits she had turned around to check on the man only to see a transportation circle forming next to him. Realizing what that meant, Akeno had run before the devil could emerge from it and kill her for being sired by that bastard.

Akeno knew she needed to get out of the city before the devil could track her down. Checking her pockets, she found she had enough yen to take a train to next town. She started to make her way to the station, making sure to keep an eye out for the devil.

Nearing the station, Akeno began to relax. It was late, but there was still a line at the ticket window and a train in the station. There was no way the devil would put so much effort into tracking her down as to follow her to another town. Feeling better, she quickly approached the station and got in line to purchase her ticket. She scanned the crowd as she waited, watching for any hint of the devil. She breathed a deep sigh of relief when she didn't see anything.

As she waited, she saw a face she recognized in the corner of her eye. Turning, she saw the only thing worse than the devil disembarking the train: one of her cousins. Akeno froze, her breath catching in her throat, and in that split second of indecision he spotted her. She jumped out of line and started to run as he began rushing towards her.

Thinking quickly, she decided to attempt to lose him in the back streets. Ducking into them, she began sprinting, taking as many tight corners as she could...and found herself completely lost. Not seeing her cousin, she looked for an exit, hoping to find the station again. Finally finding a main road, she exited, only to see one of her Uncles keeping lookout.

Heart pounding, Akeno ducked back into the backstreets and searched for another way out, but she found a different family member at every exit. Each time they spotted her the circle shrank and she had less space to maneuver. Desperately, she began checking every door, looking for a place to hide, but found none were open and no one answered her knocks. At a loss, she hid in an alley hoping that they would miss her and she would find an opportunity to escape.

From her hiding spot she heard footsteps enter the alley, and then the telltale sound of swords being drawn from scabbards followed by the voice of an older man. "Come out you abomination, I know you're hiding in there."

Akeno clenched her fists. There was no way out. Straightening her back, she left the shadows and walked resolutely into the light created by the streetlamp; she refused to die a coward. She looked out and saw two of her cousins and her uncle blocking the exit from the alley, each with a sword drawn.

Akeno glared into her uncle's eyes as he stalked towards her, his sword raised for a strike.

"Hello, uncle," she said coldly, only barely managing to keep the quaver out of her voice.

"Akeno." No other words were necessary between the two of them. There was silence for a brief second, then he moved.

Time seemed to slow as her uncle swung his blade. She waited for it to land, but instead a magic circle appeared surrounding her, and she looked on in amazement as something stopped the blade.

Suddenly a deep voice rang out from above. "What is this? Why are you trying to kill that young lady?"

She and her uncle looked up to see the silhouette of a tall man with six bat wings coming from his back against the moon.

As the devil descended, her uncle responded, "This _thing_ is no lady! It's the spawn of one of the fallen. Let me end its pitiful life."

Having landed, the devil glared at her uncle. "She is a young girl; her existence is not a crime. More than that, through her own actions the Gremory clan owes her a debt. If you kill her we will have only one option left to fulfill it—taking your lives." As he spoke, an unnaturally dark fire appeared over his hand.

She saw her uncle pale, but he held his ground. "If you kill me it'll mean war between our clans."

The devil responded, his voice steady, "So be it. Gremory honors its debts."

Her uncle glanced at her, rage apparent on his face. "Fine. As long as she stays under Gremory protection and off of Himejima lands, we will no longer seek her life."

The devil held out his hand and responded, "Then we have an accord?"

Her uncle took his hand, a grimace plain on his face. He then turned around, sheathing his sword and gesturing to her cousins. They quickly walked into the shadows, disappearing from sight.

Watching them leave, Akeno felt relief flood her body, only for it to vanish once more when she again heard the devil's voice. "So what is your name, young lady?"

Akeno responded nervously, "I am Akeno Himejima."

The devil kneeled down to meet her at eye level, "Well, Akeno, I am Cornelius Agrippa, a bishop of the head of the Gremory clan. Would you like to come with me? I know somewhere you would be welcome."

Akeno felt moisture gathering in her eyes. "Why did you drive them off? I'm the daughter of a fallen angel, one of your enemies. Why would you offer me a place to stay?"

Cornelius smiled. "The man you saved earlier is one of my contractors; he would have been dead if not for your intervention. More than that, you look like someone who has deserved help for a long while but was denied for petty reasons. Helping you was more a pleasure than an obligation."

Losing control of herself, Akeno burst into tears, latching onto Cornelius with a hug and sobbing thanks into his ear. Cornelius stood up, carefully holding onto her. A transportation circle appeared beneath his feet before blinking out of existence, taking Akeno home for the first time since her mother died.

* * *

 _6 months since resurrection_

Akeno loved the Gremory estate. The simple luxury of knowing she would always have a warm meal and a soft bed was wonderful. Even better, the Gremorys had a daughter her own age she could spend time with. It was fantastic to have companionship again after so long.

Rias was fun to be around, always excited and interested. She obviously wanted to know more about Akeno's past, but she honored the boundaries Akeno set. Still, she found herself sharing more and more as time went on. Even better, she was fun to tease, always giving an enjoyable reaction while not taking it personally.

Rias's Queen, Taylor, was also an interesting person to spend time with. She had an intensity about her that never quite seemed to fully dissipate, but she was a solid presence and always willing to help. More and more Akeno found herself going to Taylor for advice. She decided that she would get Taylor to relax completely at least once, as payment for the advice if nothing else.

This morning, Akeno was at the dining table practicing her etiquette. Her only gripe about the estate was their requirement that she learn proper manners. It was a small price to pay, she thought, as she saw Rias walk in with a nervous expression on her face and something clenched in her hand, with Taylor close behind.

Rias walked toward Akeno before pausing a few steps away. Right before Akeno could ask what was going on, she saw Taylor roll her eyes and push Rias forward the last few steps until she was next to Akeno.

Rias spoke up, her voice anxious. "Akeno, I was wondering…" Rias's voice trailed off before she took a deep breath and opened her hand revealing a bishop piece. "Would you join my peerage?"

Akeno was momentarily stunned. Rias, her nervousness apparent upon her face, began to pull her hand back. In response, Akeno snatched the bishop from her grip before pulling Rias into a hug. "Of course, Rias! I'd love nothing more."

She glanced up at Taylor, who had a bemused smile on her face, before thinking to herself, 'I've finally found another family, and this one won't betray me because of my bastard of a father.'

* * *

 _17 months since resurrection_

Becoming a devil was not going how Isaiah had expected. When Rias had made the offer two months ago as he lay dying, it had seemed perfect. Who better to seek revenge against the church, to hunt down and destroy all the holy swords, than a devil? Since then, he'd begun to question that conclusion.

Rias and Akeno just came across as girls his own age. Isaiah had almost convinced himself that it was an act, but he found himself doubting it more and more with each passing day. Taylor fit better into his image of a devil, with her quiet intensity and a gaze that seemed like it was always searching for a weakness, but even she calmed down at times, usually when Rias was involved.

Then there was the training. The sword master Rias had arranged to train him, Okita-sensei, was excellent and he was happy with his progress, but when he asked about its purpose he found it to be rating games, battles for status between devils.

It was a waste. Why would devils be more focused on their internal power struggles than their enemies? If the devils didn't even care about attacking them, why had the church sacrificed all his friends?

The conflict between his expectations of the devils and his experience with them grated on him, so any time he wasn't training he spent alone, wandering the grounds. Out in the surrounding woods, a distance away from any of the trails, he had found a clearing with small hill, a single tree at its peak. Under the tree he had set up a small shrine to his friends and made a point to visit it every day to inform them of his progress.

As he prepared to leave his shrine for the day, he heard a noise in the trees behind him. Turning around, he saw a tall man emerge from the trees and into the clearing. The man was filthy and dressed in rags, but when he laid eyes on Isaiah his face twisted into a disturbing smile.

Isaiah watched in horror as the man began to mutate. A sickening series of wet snapping noises filled the clearing as the man's legs fused, forming a snakelike tail, his arms began to lengthen and his hands fused and extended into huge blades, and a black carapace formed all around him like a dark suit of armor. His eyes took on reptilian features and his smile warped as his mouth stretched out, his teeth sharpening into points.

Realizing that he was looking at what must be a stray devil, Isaiah summoned the simple sword he was most comfortable with and fell back into a defensive stance like he had been taught. The stray devil unleashed a guttural roar and lunged far faster than he was expecting, but his training took over; he sidestepped the lunge and struck at the provided opening—only to find his strike deflected with a clang by the monster's armor.

Apparently feeling the impact, the stray let its momentum carry it out of Isaiah's range. The monster quickly turned around and approached him more cautiously this time. Then, quick as lighting, it began to launch attack after attack, always keeping back one of its sabers for defense and using its reach advantage to keep him on the defensive.

The strikes were slow enough that Isaiah was able to dodge them without issue, but he knew he wouldn't be able to keep it up forever. He considered retreating, but with the speed the stray devil showed when it first attacked, he wasn't sure that he would be able to escape without being skewered.

Feeling the growing ache of exhaustion, Isaiah went for a parry hoping to force an opening, but the force of the monster's blow was more than he was expecting, and instead of redirecting it he took the full impact. The blow sent him sprawling. Remembering his training he rolled quickly to the side and got to his feet only to see one of the bladed appendages sunk deep into the dirt where his torso had been just a fraction of a second earlier.

Breathing heavily, Isaiah backed away to give himself space as the monster got its bearings. At this rate, being on the defensive would get him killed. He steeled himself, mouth set in a grim line, and prepared for an all out attack. Isaiah activated Sword Birth and created a larger sword, hoping to crack the shell. Upon seeing Isaiah's blade change, the stray backed off slightly and settled into a defensive stance. Focusing all his demonic power into his legs, he decided on the left shoulder joint, aiming to take one of the beast's blades and use the opening that created to escape.

Just as Isaiah was about to charge, a swarm of insects erupted from the trees and attacked the stray's face. The stray shrieked, falling out of its stance as it attempted to disperse the swarm, limbs flailing. Seeing his opportunity, Isaiah charged and swung his blade right into the shoulder joint. He felt a surge of satisfaction as the carapace cracked from the force of the blow, but it was short lived—the sword halted half way through.

The stray's other arm struck out haphazardly in response to the attack, slamming Isaiah hard with the flat of the blade, knocking him a few feet away. It left him dazed and caused his sword to dissolve. Isaiah looked up at the stray expecting to see it coming to finish him off, but it still was preoccupied with the relentless assault of the swarm.

Before he could start trying to crawl away, Taylor darted out from the trees, moving faster than anything he had ever seen, and attacked the stray. She was wielding a large knife, which she stabbed deep into the crack Isaiah had created in the stray's carapace causing the arm to go limp.

The stray let loose a pained cry and swung at her wildly with its other arm. Taylor responded by ripping her knife free of it and stepping into the attack. With her left arm she brought her elbow down onto the stray's blade, and Isaiah heard the carapace crack under the blow. With her right she brought up her blade and stabbed it from under the chin straight into the stray's head.

Twisting the knife free of the stray, she smoothly transitioned into a powerful kick at its chest. The force of the blow sent the stray flying back ten feet where it collapsed into a heap. Insects swarmed the body where it landed and Taylor walked up and stabbed it once more right in the middle of the formless swarm before turning around and coming towards Isaiah.

Taylor kneeled in front of Isaiah. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been worse," Isaiah wheezed as he attempted to stand. He stumbled, still rattled from the blow he took earlier, but Taylor caught him.

As Taylor laid him down she admonished him, "Lie down and rest. That last blow you took was a pretty big hit, even if it didn't catch you with the blade."

Isaiah decided to take the advice and let the clearing fall into a comfortable silence as Taylor sat down next to him. After letting a few minutes pass for his head to clear he finally spoke up. "Thank you for rescue. I'd probably be dead if you hadn't come when you did."

Taylor turned to look at him. "You should save your thanks for Rias," she said seriously. "She was the one who got worried and sent us out looking when you didn't return at your normal time. I'm just good at wide area reconnaissance, so I was the one who found you first."

"Why does she care? Obviously I'm not that strong if I was almost killed by an enemy you disposed of with ease."

Taylor's expression shifted into one Isaiah couldn't quite place. "Do you really think Rias cares about how strong you are? You're in her peerage, and she views that as a bond at least on the level of family. Honestly, Akeno and I are the same—though to a lesser extent. And don't be so hard on yourself! You're younger than I was when I went into my first fight, and I would've been killed if someone hadn't stepped in and saved me then."

Isaiah sat up and allowed that thought to sink in. He really hadn't given them a chance. They'd defied his expectations, so he had ended up deciding it was a façade hiding their true natures. Now, though, they had saved his life for the second time, and he could no longer delude himself about their intentions. He needed to be more grateful to the ones who saved his life, especially since he still needed his revenge.

Taylor then spoke up, "Are you willing to tell me what you were doing all the way out here by yourself? We're quite a ways off the trails."

Isaiah gestured towards the shrine on the hill in response. "I built that shrine to honor my friends. The church had us all killed when we were no longer useful for their experiments."

Taylors expression soured somewhat. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Isaiah thought for a second. "Not right now...I'll tell you later when Rias is present. I think it's only right for both of you to know about the person you saved."

Taylor gave him a small smile. "Take your time. I know how hard it is to share traumatic experiences."

That thought brought up a question that had been sitting at the fringes of Isaiah's mind. "By the way, where did you learn to fight like that?"

Taylor frowned slightly before replying, "You aren't the only one who's been training with the older devils."

"I didn't mean the techniques. The way you moved had a viciousness and surety that I haven't seen from their training."

Taylor paused for a moment, looking somewhat conflicted, before responding, "That...is a story I'm not entirely comfortable sharing. Let's just say it's the result of a lot of desperate battles."

Isaiah was disappointed, but he decided that she should be allowed her secrets, even if he was to share some of his. Still, he didn't need to know the whole story to get what he really wanted. "Would you be willing to train me? I want to be able to fight like that."

"It isn't something you get purely from training, but if that's what you want I can spend some time working with you—it won't be easy though. And you _will_ still need to train with Okita; I don't know the first thing about swordplay."

Taylor stood up and put out her hand to help Isaiah up as well. "We should get going; I told Rias you're alright, but she'll be worried if we delay too long."

Isaiah reached out and took Taylor's proffered arm so she could pull him to his feet. "You know..." he began, giving voice to a sentiment that had been building for a while. "I don't want to be Isaiah anymore; I think he died with all his friends. It should be another who avenges them."

Taylor's expression was unreadable for a moment before shifting into a small smile. "Well, as long as you don't mind it sounding Japanese, I'm sure Rias would be more than happy to help you with that."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks once again to GlassGirlCeci for taking my somewhat inane ramblings and making them much more fun to read. There is going to be a delay on the next chapter since due to real life stuff I won't be able to write, or even comment, for the next two and a half weeks. I expect to get the next chapter done by mid October.

So anyone who knows Akeno's backstory will notice that the timeline is off, all of this should have happened when she was ten. As I did the research for this chapter I realized that to match Akeno's canon timeline I would need to rewrite the last two chapters to involve her. I decided against that so she spent two more years living with her abusive extended family in this story before they decided to try and kill her. I am quite happy overall with her section, even if it is pretty much just my take on her canon backstory.

Kiba's (the name Isaiah takes after this chapter, for those of you who don't know) section went through quite a few rewrites. I originally had a very different fight scene planned, but the set up always felt really forced so instead I took an event from his canon backstory with Taylor making the rescue instead of Okita. Still I like the end result and it was fun writing my first fight scene. Also I need to thank GlassGirlCeci for this scene in particular as she really helped with that fight.

As always criticism is welcome.


	7. Canon Omake: Busy Day

**A/N:** This is an Omake written by Breadnaught over at Spacebattles. It is based on a discussion about what Taylor's role is in House Gremory and a comment I made about what type of contracts Taylor has set up. I liked what was written, and it fits with the story, so I canonized it. Don't expect much about this type of stuff in the future though, aside from maybe a mention. As I stated in that thread the focus of this story is on Taylor's relationship with the peerage, not what she gets up to by herself.

If you are interested in any of the other Omakes that have been written for this story but I have not canonized you can find them on the Spacebattles thread, the specific post of each is linked under the Apocrypha tab.

As for story progress I am just back from spending two weeks abroad but i did complete my outline for the next chapter, I plan on starting to write it later today. I'm not sure when I will actually complete it since it is a little... different. If you made it this far I'll give you a hint it is titled _The Queen's Ascension_ (Peerage Part 2 will pick up after it).

Without further ado, the omake. I hope you all enjoy it.

* * *

 _A Day in the Life of a Contracted Devil_  
by Breadnaught

06:15 Local time in Hell

Taylor stretched as much as she could with the limpet wrapped around her, then spent a careful ten minutes untangling herself from Rias. After winning her freedom, she got ready for her morning run, before starting her day.

11:00 Hong Kong time

The first job scheduled for the day was as translator for a business meeting. Turns out the Devils Gift of Tongues was really useful when in communication with multiple foreign groups. Language barriers didn't apply to Taylor any more. She idly wondered how they would have rated this on Earth Bet; Thinker 1 maybe?

06:30 West Africa time

A surprisingly common job for Devils of the Gremory Clan, Taylor had an ongoing contract for the CleanWater4All Foundation, which specialized in establishing clean, safe water supplies in places that wouldn't otherwise have them. Generally, locations that didn't have the infrastructure needed to provide themselves fresh water were a logistical pain to ship in heavy machinery. Thus, it was much quicker and cheaper to hire a Devil to fly out, use a transmutation spell to dig a tunnel to the water supply, then have a work crew install the pipes.

The Gremory Clan offered such services at a heavy discount. All part of the Four Satans Hearts and Minds campaign. They were a kinder, more enlightened Hell now.

Whenever she was in the area, Taylor wondered if the Africa of her homeworld would have turned out this way without the intervention of Scion and the rise of Parahumans. Their histories were mostly the same - as much as she could tell - until a few decades ago. This Africa, like her own, suffered the same problems with colonialism. Then the colonial era ended and the power vacuum made a lot of places even worse. But things were improving.

The continent still had national lines that actually meant something. This Africa never collapsed into a million fiefdoms, ruled by ever-changing cast of Parahuman warlords.

88:62 Niðavellir local time

Taylor had a natural talent for planer-teleports beyond most. She suspected it was either due to the inter-dimensional nature of her Passenger, or her previous experience controlling Doormaker. Maybe a bit of both.

Whatever the reason, it meant that when the Dwarves of Niðavellir contacted the Devils about a trade deal, Taylor was the one to get the job. Apparently the Dwarves and Asgard were having one of their semi-regular falling outs, so the Dwarves didn't want to use the Bifrost right now. So Taylor waited patiently while they loaded the transport container she would be teleporting back with her.

11:25 United Kingdom time

Broadly speaking, you could separate Summoning magic into two categories. The _polite_ kind, where you send out a call asking for something to appear. And the _rude_ kind, where you warp space-time to magically grab someone against their will.

Devils tended to take exception to the second kind.

That was why Taylor was here to deal with some idiot cultists that thought kidnapping a devil was a good idea. They'd warded their location from detection spells, making them more difficult to find, but they'd had the misfortune to abducting a Devil from Gremory lands. That meant they'd called Taylor when they couldn't locate the cultists the normal way.

It doesn't matter how clean your house is; there's always bugs.

The captured Devil was stuck inside a Binding Circle, wondering how she was going to get out, when she heard an odd noise. It sounded like a load of wasps or bees getting closer. Then the screaming started. Apparently it was wasps _and_ bees. And spiders too.

12:15 California time

Sitting in a cafe in Silicon Valley, Taylor had to admit that she liked these corporate espionage jobs. Two blocks away a tech-company was having a Board of Directors meeting, discussing their latest production runs and marketing campaigns for the hot new smartphone they'd developed. In a motel room three blocks in the other direction, a collection of dog-sized hellflies typed out the conversations taking place in the board room on a collection of laptops.

Just two hours relaxing in a coffee shop and it would be the best paying job she'd had today. Her clients would pay well for this kind of information.

16:20 India time

After being Summoned by a local Devi, Taylor was now searching through the thick tropical jungle for his idiot apprentice. Apparently the moron thought all his masters warnings about treating with spirits before you were ready somehow didn't apply to him. So now he was possessed by some sort of jungle spirit and already had a taste for human flesh.

Damn idiot rookies. At least jungles were absolutely _teeming_ with bugs. Flying above the canopy in a spiral search pattern should find him soon enough.

21:45 local time in Hell

Taylor dragged herself home, silently vowing to herself that someday she'd burn down that damn jungle. She'd burn it all!

She would have been home three hours ago; never should have answered that last Summon, but it had sounded like an emergency. It _was_ an emergency - one guy had already been eaten - and she'd felt bad about turning it down.

Now she was going to have the longest shower in the history of the Underworld until she got all the jungle gunk off. Then she'd bug one of the maids (but not with actual bugs) for some food, then sleep like the dead.


	8. The Queen's Ascension

Primary Objective complete

Querying Director for new Primary Objective

…

New Primary Objective received: Isolate Pointer

Activating Scanner: Location within acceptable bounds identified

Activating Tunneler

Moving Pointer into identified location

Deactivating Tunneler

Primary Objective complete

Querying Director for new Primary Objective

…

…

No Objective returned

Beginning Secondary Objectives: Analyzing data, preparing Subcore-2074 for deployment

…

New presence detected: Isolation failed

Shard detected: Establishing communication: Shard identified as Pathfinder

Receiving orders from Director: Attempt no countermeasures against Pathfinder

…

Second breach of isolation detected: Unknown entity in range

Director and Pointer disconnected

Attempting to reestablish connection with Director

…

…

Attempt Failed

Attempting to reestablish connection with Director

…

…

Attempt Failed

Receiving request from Subcore-2074 for deployment

Deployment suspended

Attempting to reestablish connection with Director

…

Attempt successful

Connection with Pointer reestablished

Running diagnostics on connection

Connection strength reset to previous version

Running diagnostics on Pointer

Receiving request from Subcore-2074 for deployment

Request denied

Repurposing Subcore-2074

Establishing new Primary Objective for Subcore-2074: Prevent future severance of connection with Director

Establishing new Secondary Objective for Subcore-2074: Minimize future damage to Director

Establishing resources for Subcore-2074: Full access granted

Pointer diagnostics completed

New power source identified

Source classified as Queen

Beginning analysis

…

* * *

 _2 years since resurrection_

Receiving proposal-2074-23E from Subcore-2074

Analyzing proposal-2074-23E

Modify Director: Remove Pointer as primary host for Director

Modify Director: Use entirety of Swarm as host for Director

Modify Queen: Strengthen Queen to support Link

Modify Link: Remove Pointer as host for Link

Modify Link: Use Queen as host for Link

Delivery Mechanism: Subcore-2074

Power supply: Cannibalize Subcore-2075 and 2076

Primary Objective achieved

Secondary Objective achieved

Risk: Exposure of Core to Queen

Proposal-2074-23E accepted

Initiating proposal-2074-23E

…

Proposal-2704-23E complete

Unanticipated result: Core modified by Queen

Unanticipated result: Core generating new power

Querying Director: What do I desire?

* * *

Taylor awoke suddenly from a dream. She tried to recall the question she had been asked just before she awoke, but the memory faded from her consciousness as dreams tend to do. Dismissing it as unimportant, she glanced at the clock and noted it was still two hours before she had to get up for her run.

As she shifted slightly, she felt Rias's comforting weight pressing down on her side. When she had agreed to allow Rias to share her bed every night, she had _assumed_ the girl would quickly grow sick of it, especially since she had banned Rias from doing so while naked. Instead, it had been more than a year and the girl still did so nearly every night. At this point, Taylor was uncomfortable on the few nights she was sleeping alone.

Deciding to go back to sleep Taylor started to get comfortable. As she did so, though, she noticed that something seemed off. Unable to quite put her finger on what it was she felt a slightly strange sensation as she shifted her attention fully to her swarm. Then she felt her blood run cold.

Her range had nearly doubled from when she had gone to bed last night. Far more disturbing though was the way the insects were moving. They had speed and strength that far exceeded what their capabilities should have been. Her passenger had changed something, and she had no idea what.

Taylor jolted upright, startling Rias out of her sleep, but that was the least of her worries. She needed to contact Sirzechs.

She would not allow herself to become a monster once again.

* * *

Taylor sat in a waiting room in the middle of the devil's capitol. Dozens of magical circles decorated the walls, ceiling and floor, each meant to contain her or her power should her passenger fully take control once again. They were definitely having some effect; her range had been cut somewhat, but it still extended quite a ways past the walls. More effective was whatever circle was interfering with her Demonic Power—she could still sense it, but any time she tried to do something with it, she failed. The power just seemed to slip away.

Beside her sat Rias, despite the best efforts of both herself and Sirzechs. Taylor had even gone so far as to explain to her exactly what might happen to her should Taylor's passenger be unleashed. Despite this, the girl steadfastly refused to leave her side, and when it became apparent that nothing short of force would get her to leave, they relented and allowed her to stay. Truthfully, if somewhat selfishly, Taylor was glad for the comfort her presence provided.

They were waiting to hear from Ajuka Beelzebub. Upon hearing what had changed, Sirzechs had called in a favor to get him to scan Taylor, hoping he could figure out what had happened.

As she sat there waiting, Taylor studiously ignored the new sensation she was feeling with her power. It was like there was a tunnel, or maybe a current, that continuously drew in a small amount of her power while a slightly larger amount flowed out. This emission had a different flavor than her natural power, but it quickly diffused into her own power and became imperceptible.

More than two hours went by unchanging in the waiting room before the magic circles began to dissipate. Taylor began to relax, knowing that they must be confident she was not a danger. She was in the process of gently waking Rias, who had fallen asleep with her head resting on Taylor's shoulder, when the door opened and Ajuka walked in.

Ajuka was a tall man appearing to be in his mid twenties. He was almost impossibly handsome, with piercing blue eyes and light green hair that he kept slicked back. The most unique thing about him, though, was this strange aura that he always had about him. It was separate from the aura generated by his demonic power and it served to make him feel mysterious and just ever so slightly _off_. When Taylor had asked him about it, he had smirked and said he liked the way it made him seem devilish.

After entering the room, Ajuka's gaze fell on Taylor and he smiled before saying, "Well, Taylor, I must say you consistently bring me the most interesting things to study."

Taylor sat up straight then winced, rolling her shoulders to try to ease out the tension of the last several hours. "What happened, Akuja?" she said, still somewhat on edge. "Why did my power change?"

Ajuka's voice grew more serious. "Your passenger, I believe you called it, seems to have mutated your piece. Your Corona Pollentia and Corona Gemma have disappeared. My guess is some of the changes to your queen are now fulfilling their role. The range increase most likely comes from the improved connection the piece is providing."

Taylor felt herself growing tense again. Rias noticed this and put a hand on her arm, and asked, "Can we prevent her passenger from changing the piece further?"

"I have reinforced the piece and locked it to Taylor's will. It shouldn't be able to be changed further without her consent."

Taylor felt the tension begin to drain away again. Having direct control over the connection could only be an improvement. Feeling slightly better, she asked about the other changes. "What about the new demonic power, and why are my bugs stronger and faster now?"

While his expression remained the same, Taylor could hear some excitement slip into Ajuka's voice as he responded, "That's probably the most interesting aspect of this whole event. While I can't say for sure, given that you're the first parahuman to ever become a devil, I do have a theory about where that new power is coming from. It is rare, but when two creatures have a truly symbiotic relationship, a single evil piece can transform both into devils. My guess is that when your passenger mutated the piece it became powerful enough to turn it into a devil as well."

Ajuka's voice grew slightly frustrated as he continued, "As for your insects...I have an explanation, but the mechanism that is causing it is eluding me. The insects seem to be receiving the bonuses to strength and speed granted to you by your queen piece - and they presumably receive the magic bonus as well, but we don't really have a way to test for that as of yet."

Taylor's mind raced, considering the implications that had on her swarm tactics. She paused that thought process for now deciding to focus on it later and asked, "So what is the plan for now?"

Ajuka smiled again, probably noticing her excitement at the change to her swarm. "Well I'd like you to stay here for a couple of days so I can continue to monitor your piece and make sure the reinforcements are working. After that, you should be free to return home."

Taylor nodded and turned to Rias. "Are you okay with me staying here?"

Rias nodded. "Of course, whatever you need to feel better. Should I stay with you?"

Taylor smiled. She'd expected the question. "No Rias, I'll be fine. I'm not the only member of your peerage anymore, they'll need to know what is going on. Plus you still need to go to school. Don't worry; I'll keep in touch."

Rias looked at her seriously. "You'd better." Then she gave Taylor a hug. "I'll come visit tomorrow after school."

Taylor smiled as Rias reluctantly left the room. Her smile sharpened as she turned toward Ajuka. "So. Do you think we can do any tests to see exactly how much stronger my insects are now?"

* * *

 **A/N:** As always thanks to my beta reader GlassGirlCeci for taking my mad ramblings and making them into something readable.

So I have had quite a few people ask me how is Taylor's swarm going to remain relevant and this chapter is part of my answer. I considered a few other methods for buffing the swarm but I felt this one was the smoothest, plus it enables a couple of other things I wanted to do further down the line. I should also mention that this will have quite a lot of side effects, many of which I have only hinted at or just didn't bring up in this chapter as they wouldn't have realized them yet.

My only real complaint about this chapter is that I didn't realize I needed it early enough. Ideally the QA parts would have been broken up and placed at the end of some of the earlier chapters. Plus I would have added another section setting up a Chekhov's Gun that I wouldn't fire for 4 or 5 arcs but I had to cut it as it didn't flow right when you put all of QA into a single chapter.

I hope you all enjoy the chapter and as always criticism is welcome.


	9. Peerage Part 2

_2 Years 1 Month since resurrection_

Shirone sat alone in her cell waiting to die.

She had been unsurprised when the court had made its ruling. After all, if she was someone so worthless as to be abandoned by her own sister, how could she expect strangers to do anything less?

Thinking about her sister hurt, and she knew there was nothing she could do about the ruling. So she sat, ears down and tails still, and waited.

Eventually the door to the cell swung open and she could see the guard standing in the doorway, shackles in hand. He spoke up curtly, "Come out. You have been summoned to the court."

Shirone stood, withdrawing her ears and tails and made her way to the doorway. She held out her arms so the guard could cuff them with the shackles and followed him as he led her to the courtroom.

Stepping into the courtroom she saw the judge that had presided over her trial and Lord Stolas, the father of the devil her sister had killed, talking to a man she did not recognize. The new man was tall with bright red hair flowing down to his shoulders. Shirone felt that description tug at a memory but she could not place him.

The guard bowed deeply upon entering. "My lords," he said, "The prisoner you requested."

The three men turned to look at her. Lord Stolas' face twisted in fury and the judge concerned but the red haired man smiled as he saw her. He addressed the guard, "Remove the shackles."

"My lord!" the judge interjected, "she is a prisoner sentenced for death! It is against regulation for her to be unshackled!"

The red haired man's smile slipped off his face as he turned slowly back towards the judge, and Shirone could almost feel the edge in his voice as he replied, "She is a twelve year old girl; I am certain it will not be a problem."

Shirone watched as the judge blanched, then bowed and said, "N-No my lord, I don't think it will be a problem."

The guard pulled out his key and removed Shirone's shackles.

Seeing this, the red haired man turned back to the two others and began to speak. "As I was saying, the Gremory Clan has volunteered to take custody of Shirone."

"My lord, her sister killed my son and fled!" shouted Lord Stolas, "The Stolas clan demands recompense for that crime!"

The red haired man's voice was even as he addressed the Judge, "I was not aware our laws allowed for the punishment of crimes to be passed on to the criminals' families."

The Judge responded, "It is an old law, but it has not been changed. Under certain conditions, the punishment for crimes can be passed on to other family members."

Upon hearing this, something about the red haired man subtly changed. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck, and her instincts screamed at her to flee from him, and she noticed that the Judge and Lord Stolas each had taken half a step back.

He spoke up, his voice so cold it sent a shiver down Shirone's spine. "Oh? I was not aware. Perhaps I shall order the execution of the children whose parents committed crimes during the Civil War? A law must be applied equally after all."

Lord Stolas sounded terrified. "N-no my lord, I d-do not think that will be ne-necessary."

The feeling faded as the red haired man spoke up again. "I am glad; I would hate to have to do something so terrible due to an out of date law—which I am _sure_ will rectified soon. Now then, as I was saying, the Gremory clan is taking custody of Shirone here. Do you have any more objections to that?"

Lord Stolas bowed deeply. "No my lord."

The red haired man nodded. "Then you are dismissed. I have something I need to discuss with Shirone."

The judge and Lord Stolas practically fled the room at their dismissal. The red haired man walked over to Shirone and smiled. "Hello Shirone, I am Sirzechs Lucifer. If you would come with me, I know some people who are looking forward to meeting you."

Shirone nodded once and replied, "Okay."

* * *

Rias was filled with anticipation. Her father had informed her that they would be getting a new house guest today, one that was only a couple of years younger than herself. She was looking forward to it; the house had felt much more empty since Taylor had been spending so much time away making sure the changes to her power would not cause problems.

Unable to properly concentrate on her game or training, she left to start pacing around the transportation room. The only thing she had been told about their new guest was that she was a Nekoshou, a rare species of Nekomata who are capable of using Senjutsu and Youjutsu, and that she would be staying with them due to legal issues concerning her sister.

Lost in thought, she almost jumped as the telltale flash of light of a transportation circle lit the room up. She quickly schooled her expression and started smoothing her dress nervously, preparing to introduce herself to her new guest.

Her brother appeared on the circle, standing next to a short girl with stark white hair. The girl appeared quite young, and if Rias had not been told that she was twelve by her father, she would have assumed she could be no older than ten. The thing that stood out most to Rias was that the expression on her face seemed _bored_ , rather than any other emotion she would expect in this situation.

Upon seeing her, Sirzechs smirked. "I'm glad you are here, Rias. Let me introduce you—this is Shirone. Shirone, this is my younger sister, Rias Gremory."

Rias smiled, but the girl just stared back, her expression unchanging.

Before Rias could ask her if something was wrong, her brother spoke up again, "Rias, I was wondering if you would be so kind as to show Shirone here around the Estate. I need to get back to the office before Grayfia decides I've been away too long and comes looking for me."

Rias nodded at her brother. "Of course, I'd be happy to."

Sirzechs looked down at Shirone. "Do you have any objections, Shirone?"

Shirone shook her head, her expression still flat, and walked over next to Rias. Then she turned and watched as Sirzechs created another transportation circle and left.

Rias turned to the shorter girl. "So, do you have anywhere you want to visit first?"

The girl just shook her head in response.

Rias gave her brightest smile, trying to make Shirone more comfortable, then she turned and headed into the mansion, only waiting to make sure the younger girl was following. "Then I'll just give you the tour."

Rias kept an eye on the girl during the entire tour, but her expression remained fixed, not even changing when she introduced her to her peerage. She thought she caught a reaction out of the corner of her eye when she presented the kitchen, but it was missing when she checked to make sure. After showing Shirone to her room, Rias suggested she might be sleepy given her sudden change in environment. The girl nodded and Rias left her so she could sleep.

As Rias returned to her own room, her mind was occupied with thoughts of the girl and how she might better connect to her. She didn't want to pry; she was familiar with how painful that could be from the members of her peerage. Still, she was determined to help the girl adjust to her new environment.

She began making sure to spend time with Shirone each day. Normally they would just read in the same room. She did not get much in the way of reaction from the girl, just a nod of acknowledgement when she arrived or left.

It wasn't until she brought some pocky with her as a snack that she got a real reaction from Shirone. As soon as she pulled out the snack, she noticed the girl start to fixate on it.

She smiled at the girl's obvious interest. "Would you like to try one?"

Shirone nodded at the question and quickly crossed the room, snatching the pocky from Rias's outstretched hand and went back to her side of the room. Rias let her attention drift back to her book as she ate her own. As she finished her stick, she noticed a looming presence. Glancing back up, she saw Shirone standing next to her.

The girl had a look of want on her face so adorable Rias had to stop herself from hugging her right then. Shirone then asked in a voice halfway between a demand and begging, "More?"

Rias suppressed a chuckle as she pulled out one more stick for herself and handed Shirone the box. The small girl bowed slightly, a smile gracing her lips for the first time Rias had seen. "Thank you," she said.

From then on, Rias made sure to bring a snack to share with Shirone each day.

As the days dragged on, Shirone seemed to relax more and strike up a friendship with Yuuto. Sometimes when Rias arrived to spend some time with Shirone, Yuuto would already be there and would join them for the snack.

The day she realized how important the interaction was to Shirone came a little more than a month after the girl had arrived. Taylor had just gone back to living in the estate full time. She had arranged a training day to make sure that the peerage hadn't been slacking off while she was away, then afterward had taken them all out to dinner.

The next day when Rias went to spend her time with Shirone, she found her huddled in the corner, her book sitting in front of her unopened. She didn't react as Rias entered, despite the sweet she was carrying. Rias set down her snacks and walked over to her, trying to figure out what was wrong.

As she approached, she noticed tears welling up in Shirone's eyes. Rias felt a spike of worry shoot through her. "What's wrong, Shirone?" she asked, "Why are you crying?"

The girl glanced up at her, eyes glistening. "You weren't here," she said in a small voice.

Rias immediately realized what she had done wrong. In her excitement at having Taylor back and her desire to show off the new trick she learned, she had forgotten to tell Shirone that she wouldn't be able to come yesterday.

Rias sat next to the girl, not sure what to do. She wanted to pull her into a hug, but she was worried about doing so without permission. She began to apologize. "I'm sorry Shirone...Oh, I'm a terrible friend. I forgot to tell you that I wouldn't be able to make it. Is there some way I can make it up to you?"

Shirone hesitated a second before answering, "I want cake tomorrow."

The answer was so ridiculous yet so very _Shirone_ that Rias started giggling slightly at the request and finally pulled the girl into a hug. "Sure. I'll make sure to arrange for a _fantastic_ cake for tomorrow."

A week later, Rias finally came to a decision. After finishing their snack, she held out one of her Rooks, hiding her nervousness. "Shirone, would you join my peerage?"

Shirone paused for a moment before shaking her head.

It was the first time anyone had refused her offer. The rejection hit Rias so hard that it almost hurt. She knew it was a major decision and that there were many reasons for someone to say no, but it didn't soften the blow. She gave Shirone her best attempt at a smile. "That's fine, I'll...I'll see you tomorrow with another snack."

As she turned to leave, a small hand grabbed her arm, holding her back. Rias turned around to see Shirone speak up, "I don't want to be Shirone anymore. Give me a new name like Yuuto."

Wracking her brain, Rias tried to come up with something on the spot. Finally she tried again. "Koneko, would you join my peerage?"

Smiling, Koneko nodded.

* * *

Koneko didn't feel much different as she headed for bed. It was strange, considering that she had changed her name—and species—earlier that evening.

She wasn't sure what to make of her feelings at that decision. Her sister had chosen to be reincarnated as a devil, and had ended up killing the devil that had reincarnated her, before abandoning Koneko. Part of her worried that she would end up following her sister's example, lose control and kill Rias, but the opportunity to regain the family she had lost when she was abandoned outweighed that fear. Still, she was glad to have received a new name to separate herself further from her past.

As she prepared for bed, she heard a knock at her door. She turned around and opened it to reveal Taylor standing there with that same air of quiet confidence she always seemed to project. Koneko wasn't sure how to feel about her new Queen; she knew that Taylor had the respect of the rest of the peerage from listening to them, but she had never exchanged more than a few words with the intimidating woman.

Still, Koneko opened the door wider, allowing Taylor into her room. Taylor spoke, "Hello, Koneko. I heard you're our new Rook; congratulations."

Koneko nodded, curious as to the Queen's real reason for coming here so late.

Taylor continued, "Honestly I'm here to apologize. I've been so caught up in my own issues that I haven't taken the time to talk to you. There's no way for me to sugarcoat this...I came to talk to you about your past."

Koneko felt herself start to panic. Was she here to threaten her? To _kill_ her? Prevent her from losing control of her powers and killing her king like her sister had?

Taylor held up her hands. "No no, calm down; sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. Trust me, if you were a threat to Rias, Sirzechs wouldn't have allowed you anywhere near this estate."

Koneko started to relax again as Taylor continued, "Look. I know how it feels to be betrayed by the one closest to you, and how it feels to be let down by the institutions that were supposed to help you. I know about changing your identity and personality to escape those types of situations. I'm not the most approachable person, but if you ever want to talk about it, or just want somewhere to be yourself, please come and find me."

Taylor fell quiet, leaving her words hanging, apparently waiting for Koneko to say something. Koneko only nodded once more, and Taylor sighed and shook her head with a ghost of a smile, before turning to leave the room. She paused at the door to wish her a good night, then closed it behind her.

Koneko wasn't sure what to think about the encounter, but as she sat down she noticed she had her tails out. She quickly withdrew them.

Koneko sat alone in her room, unsure what she was waiting for.

* * *

 _2 Years 8 Months since resurrection_

Taylor quickly sidestepped Yuuto's strike, making sure to keep the smile off of her face. The young man continued his assault, the practice sword he held appearing as nothing but a blur as he smoothly transitioned between his strikes. Seeing an opportunity, Taylor caught the blade with the baton she was carrying and stepped into the strike, throwing an elbow at his face as she did so.

Yuuto leaped back from the attack in an attempt to put some distance between them to reset. Taylor didn't allow him the respite, pushing forward to maintain her advantage. He was unable to get himself back into form fast enough after his hasty retreat, and Taylor quickly battered aside the meek defense he put up to plant her knee right under his sternum.

Yuuto dropped to the floor, gasping and wheezing from the strike. Taylor stepped back, allowing him to collect himself.

Since the day Taylor had rescued Isaiah from that stray, he had changed quite a bit. He had stopped isolating himself so much from the rest of the peerage, and had taken Taylor up on her suggestion of getting a new name from Rias. Yuuto Kiba, as he called himself now, was a calm and collected boy, maintaining a friendly distance with everyone. While Taylor knew the way he presented himself was at least partially a façade, she was content to let him keep it, reasoning that everyone deserved their walls.

When he was training, however, Taylor was able to see him with the façade stripped away, and the steely determination that sprung up from his anger was laid bare. He had harnessed this determination, and used it to improve by leaps and bounds. His technique was fantastic and he was getting better at using his speed to supplement it. Still, there were some areas where he obviously needed improvement.

As Yuuto got his breathing under control and sat up, Taylor asked him, "Tell me what went wrong. Why did you lose that spar?"

Still breathing heavily, Yuuto paused for a moment before answering, "I overextended, allowing you to gain control of my weapon and step into my guard. Then I took too long to recover from my retreat."

Taylor shook her head. "Those weren't your biggest mistakes. Against an opponent of sufficient skill or strength, you will never be able to leave no openings. Your biggest problem was that you didn't use all the tools available to you. When I gained control over your weapon, why didn't you drop it and summon another sword? I know I've had you practicing doing so mid-combat."

Yuuto looked at her bewildered. "You were the one who handed me that practice sword! I thought I wasn't allowed to use Sword Birth!"

Taylor arched an eyebrow. "Why would you allow your opponent to dictate the rules of engagement to you? Do you really think that I wasn't using my own abilities to gain an advantage?" As Taylor said that, she made the flies she had planted on his arms and legs to track them fly out in front of his face. "I know I told you that if you ever find yourself in a fight that seems fair, it either means you weren't sufficiently prepared, or you aren't properly using your advantages."

Before Taylor could continue, she sensed someone appear out of a transportation circle and storm off towards the bedrooms.

She addressed Yuuto again, "Rias is back from her meeting, and I think she needs some assistance. I'm going to go talk to her and find out what happened. If you want to keep going, practice transitioning blades between strikes."

Yuuto acknowledged her instructions with a small bow he probably picked up from his training with Okita, then started heading over towards the practice dummies.

Taylor left the training area and started making her way towards the bedrooms, wondering what happened with Rias. The summons she had received had been quite sudden and far more formal than how her parents usually addressed her. Based on how hard she stomped though the halls to the bedrooms, whatever had happened had not been to her liking.

Taylor opened up the door to her room to find Rias balled up on the bed, a pillow clutched to her chest. Her eyes were red and puffy, and with the way she was breathing it was obvious that she was attempting to keep herself from crying.

Taylor got onto the bed next to her and pulled the girl into a hug. Rias, who finally seemed to become aware of her presence, let go of the pillow and shifted herself so she could return the hug and bury her head in Taylor's chest.

Just as Taylor was going ask Rias what had happened, Rias lost her battle with her tears and started weeping. Momentarily at a loss, Taylor thought back to when Emma had comforted her after her mother's death. While her memory of the feeling was tainted by Emma's later betrayal, she still recalled how much just having someone to cry on had helped in those first couple of weeks. Taylor began stroking Rias's hair, deciding to give Rias some time to put herself together.

Eventually, after calming down some, Rias told her what had happened. "I'm betrothed." Her voice trembled. "My—my parents have arranged for me to be married to Riser Phenex."

Taylor felt a dead weight settle into her stomach. Before she could ask for more details, Rias continued, "I k-know I shouldn't be crying over something so simple; it isn't as bad as what you had to deal with in your life, but it still hurts. Why would my parents do something like t-this?"

Feeling Rias start to break down again, Taylor pulled her into a more firm hug. "It's okay, Rias," she said softly. "There's nothing wrong with how you're feeling, grief isn't something that should be compared. Pain is pain and there's nothing wrong with feeling it."

Taylor waited for Rias's crying to subside before continuing. "Do you know when the marriage is supposed to take place?"

Rias mumbled, "Not for a while yet...the betrothal was arranged before I was even born."

Taylor nodded. She gently pulled away from the hug so she could meet Rias's eyes. "All right then, we have some time. Tomorrow, we're going to sit down and find a way to get you out of that betrothal." Rias's eyes widened at the steel in her voice. "Tonight though, I am going to get Akeno and the three of us are going to drown your sorrow in ice cream."

Rias nodded, a tentative smile finally appearing on her face. Taylor smiled back, but in the back of her mind she began planning how to get Rias out of this situation.

The world would _burn_ before she let Rias suffer this fate.

* * *

 **A/N:** Once again thanks to GlassGirlCeci for her help. I don't really have too much say about this chapter. I had an issue with nailing down Koneko's (hence why Rias gets such a large part of her section) but I still like how it came out. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

As always criticism is welcome.

Edit: I fixed a stupid research error on Nekomata.


	10. Peerage Part 3

_3 Years 10 Months since resurrection_

Gasper fell back, the blade he had just been run through with still embedded in his chest.

He could not believe it was over. It had only been a week since he had escaped from the hell that was his home, and already he was dead. He would never find the better life he had sought.

He didn't even know why these men wanted to kill him, he hadn't even been in this town a full day.

A renewed pain brought him out of his thoughts and he opened his eyes to see the blurry form of the man that had stabbed him standing over him, blade now in hand.

He tried to listen to the voices as the man addressed his companion, but his mind was feeling fuzzy and he couldn't comprehend what was being said. He watched the man turn around and walk out of sight.

With nothing to focus on he found his mind wandering to the odd pamphlet he had tucked in his skirt. A strange girl had handed it to him shortly after he arrived in the town earlier today. A complex circle was emblazoned on it as well as the text "Your Wish Will be Granted."

Gasper hadn't given it much thought at the time, as he'd still been looking for somewhere to stay, but his fading mind seemed fixated on it now.

What would he wish for? Part of him wanted to go back, to have never left his home. But it was a small part; that place was hell and dying here was better than living there.

As his mind faded he came to a conclusion. Not entirely sure why, he felt himself gasp out, "I wish to continue."

The last thing he saw before his vision went dark was a flash of crimson light.

* * *

Gasper awoke. The world felt soft. He opened his eyes to find himself lying on a bed in a lavishly decorated room. He felt a small surge of panic, wondering if his father had gotten hold of him again, but he quickly dismissed the thought. There is no way his father would have bothered saving him, let alone put him in so nice a room.

As he settled down he heard voices coming from just outside the door. He listened, hoping to find out what was going on.

A women's exasperated voice was saying, "—just supposed to be going out to practice making some low risk contracts. How did that result in you resurrecting a new member for your peerage?"

Another girl's voice, sounding somewhat younger and much more satisfied, responded, "She activated the circle after being stabbed! It was the only way I had available to save her and fulfill the contract. Plus it isn't like she has no potential; I could only revive her using my mutated Bishop."

The first voice responded, concern evident in her voice. "That's arguably more worrying, not less. You don't know anything about her. What if she's a threat to you, or a plant from one of your family's enemies?"

The second voice replied flatly, "I knew just as much about her as I knew about you."

There was a small pause and then the first voice muttered, "Oh Lucifer, I'm turning into your brother."

She then spoke louder, "Anyway, our guest seems to have woken up. Shall we go say hello?"

The door opened, and standing in the frame were two girls. The one in front appeared to be a teenager a couple of years older than himself. She was gorgeous, with striking red hair and a comforting smile. Behind her was a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She was taller and more plain than the redhead but her dark hair was quite nice. Her gaze, though, was far less comforting; it made Gasper feel like he was being scanned and prepared for dissection. He felt himself begin to curl up instinctively under the taller girl's scrutiny.

The redhead spoke first, and Gasper recognized her voice as the second one. "Hello! I'm Rias Gremory, and this is my Queen, Taylor Hebert. Will you tell me your name?"

Gasper managed to stammer out, "I-I'm Gasper V-vladi. What h-happened? T-the last thing I re-remember is being st-stabbed."

Rias's smile grew fond. "As you were dying, you summoned me with the pamphlet my familiar had given you earlier. To save you I had to reincarnate you as a devil."

Gasper's stomach dropped. Now he was part human, part vampire, and part devil. His breath quickened, and he tried to suppress a rising panic. Did that make him even more of a freak? Would anyone want to be friends with such a mutant? Rias's expression shifted to one of concern and she made to approach him.

Gasper felt his Sacred Gear begin acting up. Before he could warn her, it activated and she stopped dead still, mid-step. There was a blur of motion at the corner of his vision, then an instant later he a felt the edge of a knife/blade held dangerously tight to his neck.

"What did you do?" The voice/whisper in his ear was terrifyingly cold.

Gasper felt his body freeze and then his mind caught up to the situation. His limbs began to tremble uncontrollably. He felt the blade grow tighter on his neck as Taylor repeated the question, "What did you do to her?"

He focused on the question, using it to force his mind away from the blade at his throat. He opened his mouth to answer but no noise came out. He tried a second time and barely managed to stammer out a response, "I f-froze her in t-time."

Somehow Taylor's voice grew even colder. "For how long?"

"I d-don't know. N-no longer then a couple of minutes."

Gasper felt the blade relax slightly as Taylor asked, "Why?"

He paused at the question, unsure how to respond, "What d-do you mean?"

Taylor's cold voice was tinged with curiosity as she clarified, "Why did you freeze her in time?"

Gasper paused for a moment, attempting to force himself to calm down, then he replied, "It was my Sacred G-gear, Forbidden Balor View. I can temporarily freeze in t-time anything I see. B-but I can't c-control it."

As Gasper said it, Rias began to move again. Rias's brow furrowed in confusion as she took in the scene in front of her. She looked at Taylor questioningly. "What happened?"

Gasper felt the blade disappear from his throat, and his muscles almost gave out in relief. He pulled himself as far back on the bed as he could and curled up into a ball. After a moment he forced himself to look up.

Rias was quietly talking to Taylor, but before he could start listening to what was being said Taylor nodded once and then walked out the door.

After Taylor left the room, Rias turned towards Gasper, a comforting smile on her lips. She spoke up, "I'm sorry for what just happened. Taylor can be…protective."

She paused for a moment, but Gasper didn't respond. She continued, "I was going to go more into what it means for you now that you're a devil, but I have a feeling all of this is a little much right now. How about you tell me where you live and who your family are, and I'll take you home? No doubt they're worried that a little girl like you is out so late."

Gasper finally found his voice again, "I am a boy."

Rias looked startled and her eyes seemed to scan him for a moment, then her smile became slightly forced. "W-well either way, I'm sure they're quite worried about you." Her cheeks were tinged with red.

Gasper felt his mood darken at the thought. "No, my father would just be disappointed that I'm alive." He lowered his eyes before continuing, "There's only a single being on earth that would feel anything at my death."

Gasper suddenly felt a pair of arms snake around him and pull him into a hug. He flinched for a moment at the contact but then allowed himself to settle into the comfort of the embrace.

Rias spoke again, her voice soft and soothing, "Not anymore. You're a part of my peerage now, and I'll always care for you."

Gasper basked into the warmth of the hug and quickly found himself asleep.

* * *

 _4 Years since resurrection_

Taylor sat in the lounge watching Akeno try to get a rise out of Yuuto as she waited. Rias had called a meeting of the whole group; she'd finally made her decision as to where she was going to go to High School, and thus where they would all be living for the next few years.

Taylor idly wondered if she should be feeling more irritated about this. She'd accomplished a lot in her life, and yet here she was waiting for a girl six years her junior to tell her where she was going to live. But in the end, she of all people new better than to judge a person's competence by their age. It wasn't really any different from the time she had spent as a Ward. Actually, this was preferable; this time she actually respected the person making the decision. They cared about her instead of just the politics.

She pulled herself out of her musings as Gasper walked in. The young boy momentarily froze as he laid eyes on her. Then he quickly retreated to the far side of the room before sitting down in the cardboard box he always carried with himself.

Taylor suppressed a frown. She couldn't blame the boy; his first impression of her could hardly have been worse, but his refusal to even talk to her might cause problems down the line. Still, it was an issue for later; any action she could take would risk making matters worse, and it wasn't like they had a looming apocalypse to force her hand.

Finally, Rias walked in, her presence silencing Akeno's teasing. She remembered comparing her to Emma when she first saw her, but time had shown how wrong she'd been. Rias had matured into someone who would have left Emma green with envy. Honestly, Taylor was glad she had long since gotten over her insecurities about her appearance, as the entire peerage looked like they were going to set an impossible baseline for her to meet.

Rias gave her a small smile and walked to the middle of the room. She drew in a breath before addressing them all. "Hello everyone, thank you all for coming. I've decided," she announced in her most authoritative voice, "We'll be attending Kuoh Academy."

Taylor was not surprised; she was well acquainted with Rias's obsession with Japan. Rias continued, "Sona Sitri and her Queen will be attending as well, but we're the ones who will be responsible for the surrounding territory, so I'm going to have to ask you all to assist me in running it."

That was the most important point, and securing a position like that had been Taylor's primary advice when Rias was making her decision. Rias needed the political opportunities such a position would provide if she was going to acquire the clout necessary to escape her arranged marriage.

"Akeno will be attending with me, and I've arranged for Yuuto and Koneko to be enrolled in a local middle school."

At that point Gasper spoke up. "What about me? I still can't control my Sacred Gear."

"I've been talking to Agrippa about that. He has come up with a seal that can help suppress your power. The problem is you'll need to spend your days in your room behind the seal, but you'll be able to leave at night if you wish."

The young damphire had a look of hope. "So I won't have to attend school with other people."

Taylor saw Rias frown at the response. "Yes, but I'll still be expecting you to keep up with the coursework on your computer, and once you get more control you _will_ be attending."

Gasper nodded happily at the confirmation.

Rias moved on. "Does anyone have any other questions?"

Yuuto and Koneko shook their heads but Akeno spoke up, and from her mischievous grin Taylor already knew what to expect. "Is this really okay? We'll be separating Taylor from Sairaorg, after all."

Taylor gave the girl a flat look. Akeno loved to tease, and one of her favorite subjects was Taylor's supposed relationship with Sairaorg.

Sadly, Rias's response was just as predictable. "Oh, I'm sure I can arrange plenty of opportunities for them even with the increased distance."

Taylor shifted her gaze and gave an exaggerated sigh as Rias and Akeno both broke out into giggles. Taylor made sure to hide her small smile at their antics; she didn't want to encourage them, after all.

Regaining control of herself, Rias moved on. "Well, if no one else has any questions, I'll come around and speak to you all about living arrangements separately. Taylor, I want to talk to you first."

Taylor nodded and watched as the others filed out at Rias's dismissal.

Rias sat down into the chair next to Taylor. "So...do you think Kuoh is a good choice?"

"It's a fine choice, Rias. It'll work nicely and give you the space from your parents I know you want."

Rias blushed slightly at Taylor's observation, but she sounded mostly unphased as she continued, "I had two things I wanted to discuss. First is living arrangements. I'm planning on offering everyone a choice if they wish to have their own places or live in my house, but...do you think you'd be willing to live with me? I'm kind of scared they'll all choose to have their own places."

Taylor quirked up an eyebrow. "You know I'm fine with living with you, Rias. We've only been doing so for, what, four years at this point?" Not to mention it would be much easier to protect Rias if they were sleeping in the same building.

Rias relaxed visibly. "The other thing I want to talk about is an opportunity. Kuoh Academy has an opening for an English teacher...I was wondering if you'd like to take the position?"

Taylor felt herself smile. The sad fact of her life was that even with all that she had accomplished, she was unsure whether her mother would be proud of any of it. After all, she could only look back on most of her choices with regret, but teaching English, even if she only did it for a couple of years? She knew it was something her mother would be proud of.

"I'd like that Rias. I think I'd like that very much."

Rias practically beamed.

* * *

 **A/N:** As always, many thanks to GlassGirlCeci for her assistance.

This chapter was pretty rough, Gasper's section went through quite a few revisions. As some of you know I was originally planning on him being the character I cut from the Peerage but I convinced that it would be a mistake. This did mean that I had no idea what to do with his introduction though as I had not planned anything like I had for the others. In case anyone is worried that Rias having used both her Bishops means Asia is dead, don't. I have plans for her and you will see them soon enough.

Finally we are done with the section of my story that was labeled "short prologue" in the initial outline. It only took about 25 thousand words. I hope you all enjoyed it and I didn't drag my feet to much. Next chapter we will be at the start of DxD canon. So love him or hate him Issei is about to arrive.

I do have a quick question for all of you though. The setting is moving to Japan and I really don't want to enter the mine field that is honorifics, but having Japanese students refer to her as Ms. Hebert rather than Hebert-sensei just feels wrong. Do you think I should suck it up and try and do honorifics, abandon them entirely, or try a middle ground where I mostly ignore them but still use ones like sensei?

Edit: I am convinced, she is an English teacher Ms Hebert makes by far the most sense.


	11. Myths and Legends

Kuoh Academy was a place of myths and legends. Stories seemed to spring from the ground; rumors of satanic rites having once been preformed in the old school building, myths about intelligent insects, and legends that the most beautiful girls in the school were all Youkai here to spirit away students they found to their liking. Of all these stories there was one that was widely known to be true, though no one seemed to be able to agree on the details.

It was the story of the gaijin English teacher who seemed to know all. Not a single case of wrongdoing was able to escape her notice, from boys attempting to peep on the women's locker room to students spreading nasty rumors. As soon as anyone tried to step out of line or bully another student, she appeared, ready to mete out justice.

How she was able to do so was a subject of intense speculation. Some said she set up security cameras all over Kuoh like some Orwellian nightmare. Others believed her to be psychic. Still others thought she was ex-American Special Forces, trained to the point that she was constantly aware of all that occurred around her. One of the strangest rumors, but also one of the most persistent, was that she was a Guardian Angel sent down to watch over Kuoh Academy.

It was from that final rumor that the students gave her a title: Miss Hebert, the Guardian Angel of Kuoh Academy.

Thoughts about the legendary teacher were currently dominating Issei Hyoudou's mind as he watch Motohama and Matsuda return from their preparations.

Issei spoke up, "Are you guys sure this will work? She always seems to know whenever anyone tries to break the rules."

Motohama adjusted his glasses as he anwered, "Don't worry, Issei. Miss Hebert is good, but there's no way she can be in two places at once." He pulled out a small device and continued, "One press of this button, and the smoke bombs we set up on the other side of the school will go off; while she's busy with those, we should have at least a couple of minutes without her interference."

"But what if she saw you set them up?" Issei argued. "She always seems able to confiscate our porn."

It was Matsuda who replied this time. "Oh, give it a rest already. It's a risk, but great risk is necessary to reap great rewards."

Issei didn't have a response to that. The girls of the Kendo club were beautiful; the chance to see them changing was extremely enticing.

Issei stood up straighter, the prospect of seeing boobs strengthening his resolve. "Alright then. Let's do this."

The trio quickly moved towards the back of the Kendo club's changing room, where Matsuda had stumbled upon a peep hole.

When they arrived, they gathered close together. Motohama whispered, "All right, this will only buy us a couple of minutes at most; we'll take turns. Thirty second intervals, so commit what you see to memory. The other two will be on lookout, I go first, then Matsuda, and finally Issei. Are you guys ready?"

Issei nodded and saw Matsuda mimic the gesture, then Motohama pressed the button and quickly moved for the hole.

Issei turned to start keeping watch but then heard Motohama speak up, "Matsuda, I thought you said this hole went all the way through."

As Matsuda replied, affirming that he had checked earlier today and it was clear, Issei moved in to see what was wrong. Sure enough, the hole was completely dark. But before Issei could pull back and retreat from the botched operation, he saw a flicker of light come through the hole. Issei strained his vision, attempting to see the paradise only inches away.

As he did so, he felt something touch his eye. He let out a loud yelp and fell back onto his butt, startled. Looking at the hole, he saw spiders start crawling out of it. Issei began rubbing his eye, making sure he had no unwelcome passengers, and then turned to quickly leave.

As he did he ran into someone and once again found himself knocked to the floor. Looking up, he saw the members of the Kendo club surrounding him.

Murayama-san looked down at him with utter disdain as she brandished her shinai. "What are you doing back here, you pervert?"

Before Issei was able to come up with an excuse, she glanced past him. "Is that a hole? Were you watching us change?"

Issei attempted to deflect. "I was just trying to figure out where the spiders were coming from!"

Murayama-san's eyes narrowed. "What spiders?"

Issei glanced back to see the hole, now completely clear of spiders. Facing forward again, he saw the girls beginning to move threateningly as Murayama-san continued, "You were back here watching us, weren't you?"

Murayama-san raised her shinai to strike and Issei shut his eyes, raising his arms to protect himself, but the blow never came. Instead, an eerie silence fell.

Issei cautiously opened his eyes. He looked up to see Murayama-san still holding her shinai up for a strike but unable to continue as it was being held in the iron grip of Miss Hebert.

Issei looked at the teacher. She was tall and quite thin, but her long legs gave her a certain elegance. Her bust was a little small for Issei's tastes, but with her beautiful raven hair and her American features giving her an exotic look, he could see why she was popular with so many of the boys in the school. Currently, though, her good looks were completely overshadowed by her gaze.

She was currently scanning over the girls of the Kendo Club, and Issei could see them wilt as she regarded each of them. When she turned to him, he felt as if it was scouring away his flesh before dissecting and analyzing what remained. He let out a small breath once she moved on.

Finally, Miss Hebert broke the silence. "What's going on here?"

Murayama-san released her shinai and turned to Miss Hebert before replying, "Issei was peeping on us as we changed, Miss Hebert."

Miss Hebert turned her gaze back to Murayama-san, and Issei saw her flinch as it landed on her. "I am aware; another student saw him and let me know. I was wondering why, instead of getting a teacher yourselves, you felt the need to beat him up for it."

Murayama opened her mouth to reply, but her words seemed to die on her lips. Miss Hebert continued, "Murayama-san and Hyoudou-san, come with me. I want to talk with each of you in private. The rest of you cover up that hole and change back into your uniforms and go home. Kendo Club is canceled for the day, and I will be speaking to your club adviser about what happened here."

All the girls besides Murayama dispersed, and Miss Hebert waited for a moment as Issei got to his feet before leading them towards the old school building. Finding this odd, Issei spoke up, "Sensei." Miss Hebert glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow, and Issei hurried to correct himself and address her with her English title. "Miss Hebert, why are we going towards the old school building?"

Miss Hebert replied quickly, "The school gave me an office there, since that's where the club I advise is based. I figured you two would prefer the privacy it can provide for our upcoming discussions."

As they entered the building, Issei noted it seemed much nicer than he was expecting; the inside was better maintained than the exterior led one to believe.

They approached a door and Miss Hebert pulled out a key. She glanced at Issei, then gestured to a bench. "Sit there, please. I'll call you in once I'm done talking to Murayama-san."

Issei sat down and watched as Murayama-san followed Miss Hebert into the office. He couldn't help feeling that the sound of the door latching shut had a distinctly ominous ring to it.

Issei looked up at the clock, amazed that only ten minutes had passed since the door had shut. He wanted to just run away, hoping this all sorted itself out without him, but he shut down the instinct since it would only make things worse. Plus he was certain Miss Hebert would know in an instant, so it wouldn't do him any good.

Still, the wait was painful, and he passed the time by silently cursing Motohama and Matsuda for coming up with this plan, as well as himself for going along with it. Suddenly, he heard a voice startling him out of his musings.

Looking up trying to find the source, he saw Rias Gremory, the most beautiful girl in the school. She was slightly taller than him, with beautiful pale skin. She was slim, but her breasts were still large and shapely. Despite that, even Issei had to admit her most striking feature was her crimson hair that fell all the way down to her thighs.

Issei pulled himself out of the stupor her surprise appearance elicited, and listened as she repeated her earlier question. "Is Miss Hebert in?"

Issei nodded. "Yes—she's talking to another student right now, though."

The girl smiled and sat down on the bench next to him. Issei began wracking his brain, searching for any way to extend the conversation. Finally he asked, "Why are you looking for her, Gremory-senpai?"

The girl turned back towards him. "She's my club's advisor. What about you—actually, I don't believe you've introduced yourself yet."

Issei felt his cheeks heat up at the oversight. He bowed his head slightly. "I am Issei Hyoudou."

When he glanced back up, Gremory-senpai was wearing an amused grin. "Nice to meet you Hyoudou-san. So, why are you waiting for Miss Hebert?"

Issei opened his mouth to answer but thought better than his original response. Admitting to the hottest girl in school that he had been caught peeping on the Kendo club's changing rooms seemed like a good way to end this conversation before it even began. Still, he averted his eyes as he answered. "I, um, I sort of got into a fight with another student. Miss Hebert found out about it, so she's talking to each of us separately."

Issei glanced back at Gremory-senpai, expecting to see a look of disappointment, only for her to still be smiling. "Well, I'm sure Miss Hebert will help you resolve it; she has a lot of experience ending fights."

She paused for a second, tapping one of her fingers on her thigh and looking thoughtful. "Still, if you have enough free time to be getting in fights, maybe you should find something more constructive to do with it. Have you considered joining a club?"

Issei did a double take, wondering if he was reading too much into her suggestion, but before he could respond he heard the door open, and a chill ran down his spine. He looked at the source of the noise only to see a dejected looking Murayama-san walking out of the office. When she cleared the doorway, he could see Miss Hebert sitting behind a desk, once again dissecting him with her gaze.

She glanced at Gremory-senpai for a second, her face softening slightly as she did so. "Gremory-san, do you need to speak with me?"

Gremory-senpai replied, "Not about anything urgent, I'll talk to you after your business with Hyoudou-san here, if that's alright."

Miss Hebert nodded before shifting her gaze back to Issei. "Well, come on in Hyoudou-san. We have a lot to talk about."

Issei stood up and started walking, feeling like he was heading to his own execution. Stepping into the office, he shut the door behind him.

He glanced around, looking for anything to distract himself, only to find the space spartan, without any pictures or decorations hanging on the walls. In one corner there was a bookshelf full of books with English titles, and a chessboard sitting on top. In the other there was a small terrarium. Looking closer, he saw a large spider sitting in it.

Issei shuddered slightly and resisted the urge to once again check himself for spiders. He sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk and found it to be slightly uncomfortable. Finally, he met Miss Hebert's eyes.

"So, Hyoudou-san, please give me your version of the events that preceded your fight with Murayama-san."

Issei wanted to try and lie his way out, but he suppressed the urge; she already knew too much, so that ship had sailed. Still, he wasn't going to bring his friends down with him, even if he was pissed at them for abandoning him.

"I found the hole yesterday and figured I could get a nice show. So today when the Kendo club was changing I went and tried to watch, but I couldn't see anything. A spider was in the hole and it crawled out and touched my eye...it startled me and I screamed, and the club members must have heard me. After that they cornered me and then you stopped them before they could attack."

Miss Hebert looked at him for a moment before responding. "So you were alone?"

Issei tried to keep his face straight. "Yes, Miss Hebert."

Miss Hebert sighed, then opened up a drawer and pulled out a couple of small devices. Issei immediately recognized them as the smoke bombs. "So these devices your friends set up were unrelated."

Issei felt his heart skip a beat but kept to his story. "I asked th-them to set those up as a distraction, they d-didn't know what for."

Miss Hebert's lips twitched. Was she fighting a smile? "It's noble of you to want to take all the blame, Hyoudou-san. I'll be sure to tell your friends when I speak to them later."

She then fixed him with a very serious look. "Honestly though, you and your friends are pretty lucky. If I hadn't discovered and disarmed these devices in time, I would have had no choice but to move to expel the three of you."

Issei felt his stomach drop at the thought. "As it is," Miss Hebert continued, "I have a little more leeway in my actions, but this is still a serious problem. I am willing to give you one more chance, but if I ever find you trying to spy on any of the girls again, I will have you removed from this school. Is that clear?"

Issei nodded, but privately he wondered why this was such a problem. He just wanted to appreciate the girls' beauty. He focused his attention back on Miss Hebert only to see her wearing a bemused expression; a second later, he realized that he had voiced his last thought out loud.

"Look, Hyoudou-san, wanting to see girls naked is not the problem. It's a perfectly natural, human desire. The problem is trying to do it on school property, and above all, doing it without their permission. If you want to see someone naked, go home and watch porn—or find a girl to date, and eventually she might be comfortable sharing that side of herself with you. When you spy on those girls, you're disrespecting them by taking away their choice."

Issei felt his mouth fall open. This was the last thing he was expecting to hear from a teacher. Then he felt tears begin to well up in his eyes. "Yes, sensei! I'll definitely find a girl who will date me, so I can see her naked as often as I want!"

Miss Hebert let out a massive sigh and started rubbing her forehead. "And the more important part of my statement, Hyoudou-san?"

Issei paused for a second before realizing what she was asking. "And I won't spy on girls changing again. Boobs are better when they're freely given."

Miss Hebert shook her head. "Fine. I'll accept that promise, but remember that if you break it I will have you expelled."

Issei nodded fiercely and started to prepare to stand and leave when Miss Hebert continued, "Well, with that out of the way, we can talk about your punishment for this incident."

Issei practically fell back into his chair feeling the hope from moments earlier abandon him, and he steeled himself for what was next to come.

Issei walked home, thinking about his meeting with Miss Hebert. For his punishment, he had to report to her after school for the next three weeks and perform a chore decided by her each day, and he needed to apologize to the Kendo Club.

Overall he was of the opinion that he'd gotten off lightly, given that she'd been thinking of expelling him, but his real thoughts were on what she had said before that. It was bizarre having a teacher to tell him to go and watch porn. But the core of the advice, that by spying on the girls he was showing a lack of respect for them, spoke to him.

He did not want to disrespect women, it was just that he wanted to see them naked and that desire was so strong that it made it hard to consider anything else. So he resolved that as soon as he got home, he would research porn and dating tips, instead of just porn. Feeling buoyed by that plan, he picked up the pace hoping to get home as soon as possible.

As he was crossing the bridge, he saw a girl in a uniform he didn't recognize with a furious expression on her face. When she noticed him, her expression changed to a small hopeful smile so fast that Issei would have sworn that the previous one was a trick of the light.

The girl was beautiful, with traditional asian features and long black hair that fell past her shoulders. She gave off the impression of being a somewhat meek and nervous girl—but one with a killer body.

Before Issei could speak, she asked, "A-are you Issei Hyoudou?"

Issei nodded, thanking his luck for being able to talk to two beautiful girls in one day. "Yes, is there anything I can help you with?"

The girl's eyes flitted around nervously before focusing on him again. "I was w-wondering, would you go out with me?"

Issei stared, amazed that his chance had arrived so suddenly. "Absolutely!" he blurted out, and he felt a wide smile spreading across his face. Despite the rough patches, he decided, this was the single greatest day of his young life.

 **A/N:** As always many thanks to GlassGirlCeci for her assistance. Sorry for the wait, I wish I could say I will be quicker next time but with my upcoming schedule I will either have the next chapter out by Christmas or late January to early Febuary and the latter is more likely.


	12. First Date

Rias watched as the interesting young man shuffled slowly down the hallway. Whatever Taylor had said to him in her office had really done a number on him; he hadn't even glanced her way as he left. It was an especially stark contrast given he had been pretty much unable to take his eyes off her before he had entered the office.

She stood and made her way to the office door, knocking for courtesy before entering. "Taylor?"

"Hello, Rias," Taylor said, looking up from her laptop and smiling. "Give me a moment, I just have to finish typing up this email."

Rias nodded and walked over to the terrarium to see Kokyangwuti while Taylor finished up her work. A couple of seconds later she heard the laptop close and turned around to see Taylor standing up from her desk.

Rias grinned at her Queen and asked, "So, are you ready to lose another game of chess to me?"

Taylor rolled her eyes at her. "You know, one of these days that cockiness of yours is going to be your undoing. Sadly, no, I don't have time for it today. I promised Yuuto that I'd spar with him after school."

Rias shrugged. "Well, I think I will tag along anyway. It's always fun to see how far along Yuuto has come. Plus I have something I need to discuss with you."

Taylor narrowed her eyes, "Is it important?"

"It is, but it's not urgent; we can talk later."

Taylor nodded and led Rias out of the office before turning around and locking the door. They then made their way towards the training field they had set up behind the old school building.

As they walked, Rias asked, "So, what can you tell me about that boy you were lecturing when I arrived?"

Taylor gave her an appraising look. "Hyoudou-san? Well, he's an average student, and he really needs to work on developing some self-control. Other than that, I get the sense that he's probably a little too loyal to his friends for his own good. Why do you want to know? Don't tell me you think he's cute. If you start actually dating someone here, I'm pretty sure half the girls and all the boys in the school will go after their head. I'm not sure I'd be able to deal with the fallout."

Rias felt herself blushing at Taylor's deadpan teasing. "Nothing like that! It's just, I'm just pretty sure he has a Sacred Gear, and if my guess is right a powerful one at that."

Taylor's voice gave no indication of surprise at the revelation. "So are you thinking of recruiting him?"

Rias dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "Not immediately. I think we should just keep an eye on him for now."

Rias quieted down as they walked onto the field. It was just a medium size clearing in the forest with a small building at one end and some bleachers set up on one of the edges. The ground was pockmarked with craters from previous spars. At the far end there was a large barren patch that extended a ways into the forest from when she had been working out some frustration on a training dummy that looked suspiciously similar to her fiance.

The only really impressive thing about the place was the three magic circles present in the center: one to prevent civilians from stumbling onto it, a second to try and keep the destruction contained should things get out of hand, and a third that was meant to prevent magical eavesdropping or observation.

As Rias looked around, she saw Yuuto at the other end of the field doing some warm ups. Surprisingly, she also saw Koneko sitting on the bleachers slowly eating a pocky stick. Rias smiled widely and started heading over to the bleachers herself, while Taylor went to the building to change into something more suitable for a spar.

Rias sat on the bench next to shorter girl. "Koneko, are you here to watch the sparring match?"

Her expression did not change as she nodded. "I have a bet."

"Oh, what for?"

Koneko said seriously, "Yuuto owes me cake when he loses."

Rias suppressed a small giggle and instead put an arm around Koneko and gave her a light hug. "Sounds fun."

Glancing back up at the field she saw Taylor emerge from the changing rooms. Insects began swarming out from the forest and into the clearing, forming a dark cloud behind her. As Taylor approached Yuuto, a small piece of the swarm broke off and came towards the two of them. Some of the insects formed a semicircular line around the bleachers and Rias saw the telltale glow of a shield emerge from them. The rest formed into a vaguely humanoid shape and settled next to her.

Surprised, Rias turned towards the swarm clone. "You think this is going to be destructive enough to require a shield?"

The swarm mimicked a shrug before responding, "I don't know; part of the spar was for Yuuto to come up with a new weapon to try and counter my powers. I just wanted to cover my bases. Anyway, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

Rias almost groaned. Of course Taylor would want to talk during the spar; the field was a secured environment, and it wasn't like the conversation was capable of distracting her. She really needed to talk to her Queen one day about how off-putting it was to speak to a vaguely human-shaped swarm of bugs. She wasn't sure that Taylor was fully cognizant of what the experience was like for the other person.

Still, this was as good a time as any. Deciding to get straight to the point, she said, "We most likely have a rogue exorcist in town."

The swarm clone paused for a moment, and Rias took the opportunity to look out and watch Taylor and Yuuto square off. Yuuto had summoned two blades; in his right hand was what she could best describe as an intricate long sword that appeared to be made entirely from filigree. In his left was a thick and heavy-looking dagger. Across from him was a massive swarm, dark, formless, and buzzing ominously. Rias was barely able to make out Taylor's form within the swarm—she appeared to be holding a baton or knife in one of her hands.

On a signal that she did not catch, the swarm surged. Yuuto leaped back smoothly throwing his dagger into the swarm, a new blade replacing it in his grip before his arm finished moving. As Yuuto landed, Rias saw the flash of a circle appearing under his feet and a shimmer surround his body. He then reversed direction and launched himself straight into the swarm, which made it impossible to follow the fight further.

Next to her the swarm clone spoke up again, "A rogue exorcist...what makes you say that?"

Unable to make out what was going on in the fight anyway, Rias turned back to the swarm clone. "The head coroner contacted me. A body turned up last night with wounds consistent with those light blades that exorcists use. As for why I'm thinking they are rogue...the Church normally sends an envoy to the King when they perform an operation within a devil's territory. This just doesn't fit their modus operandi."

The swarm buzzed a hum of acknowledgement. "Your information network is proving very useful; you've done a good job of setting it up. Do you have any way to confirm your hunch?"

Rias smiled brightly at the compliment. She had put a lot of effort into forming contracts with almost everyone of any import in Kuoh. The end result was that she had contacts at almost every level of government within the town, and almost nothing strange was able to happen within its borders that she wouldn't be aware of within a day.

She opened her mouth to answer Taylor's question but was stopped by an explosion of noise erupting from the field. She turned to look and saw Yuuto breathing heavily in the center of the field with his blade brought together, the filigree sword still ringing. Taylor had retreated a short distance away, still surrounded by her swarm—though it was noticeably smaller.

"That was clever," the swarm clone beside her said appreciatively. "The vibrations of the sound are meant to destroy the insects close to him while disorienting the rest; he's trying to use my swarm sense against me by overwhelming them with information. Not a bad strategy. So what were you about to say before you got interrupted?"

Yuuto and Taylor continued fighting, and the swarm once again obscuring the battle. Rias shook her head at how unruffled her Queen was in the face of an attack designed to exploit her weaknesses. She continued, "I don't really have a way to know who the exorcist might be working for until we capture him. I was planning on sending Yuuto to the morgue tonight to examine the body; he should be able to verify if the wounds were from an exorcist's blade."

The swarm mimed a nod, then asked, "If they are working for the Church or the Grigori, what are you planning on doing?"

That was the big question. Despite the fact that the exorcist had already killed a civilian, it would not reflect well on her to risk war over such a "minor" insult. In the end, though, it was simple: by killing in her territory, they flouted her authority. While she might not be able to just kill them over it, she would not just roll over to their whims.

"We are going to drive them out; if they refuse, we capture them. They haven't identified themselves, so we can always claim that we thought they were unaffiliated and then just release them back to their organization, rather than risk conflict."

The swarm began to respond, but it was drowned out by another deafening clang from the field. Rias looked out to see Yuuto once again standing tall with his blades together. This time, though, Taylor was on her knees a short distance in front of him, holding her stomach and looking like she was trying not to puke. Rias felt the bench shake and turned to see Koneko sitting next to her tapping her leg and looking uncharacteristically nervous.

On the field, Yuuto raised his blades into a defensive form and stepped forward. As soon as his foot hit the ground, however, dozens of spiders erupted around it and attached themselves to him, silk trailing behind them. Yuuto moved to bring his blades together again to try for another sound attack, but before he could complete the action, Taylor was right in front of him with her baton inserted into one of the holes in the filigree blade. With a jerk, the blade was wrenched from his grasp and sent flying away, where it dissolved into fragments of light.

Meanwhile, Taylor had grabbed Yuuto's other arm and twisted it behind his back into a painful-looking hold. Moments later her spiders had reached both his arms and began to bind them like they were doing his legs.

After a few seconds of struggle, Yuuto stilled and let himself go slack in her arms, and on the bleachers Taylor let the shield and the swarm clone dissolve. Rias glanced back at Koneko, who was now wearing a content smile. They made eye contact, and Rias shot her a grin of her own. The two of them stood and made their way down the bleachers and onto the field, where Taylor was helping Yuuto straighten up again.

As they approached, she could hear Taylor speaking, "-strategy wasn't bad, but you forgot that I could protect my insects by hiding them underground, and you assumed that my disorientation was genuine rather than treating it like a possible feint to draw you into a trap."

Taylor then turned towards Rias. "So, did you two enjoy the show?"

Rias nodded vigorously. "Very much so! That sound attack was very impressive Yuuto. It was extraordinarily loud even through that shield; I can't imagine what it had to be like out here. And your strategy was impeccable as always, Taylor." Her expression turned impish. "If you put that much thought into our chess matches, I'm sure you would be a rival for Sona in short order."

Yuuto began to give her a respectful bow but quickly stood when it looked as if he was going to fall over in his binds. "Thank you Rias; I will work to improve my ability to read a situation so I can defeat her next time."

Rias smiled at the bound boy. "For now, I would just be glad that Akeno isn't here to see you tied up like this. I doubt she'd ever let you live it down."

Taylor turned back towards Yuuto. "Well, I was going to let you free yourself to help the lesson sink in, but I believe you still have business with someone here."

Koneko finally spoke up, "He owes me cake."

Rias saw Taylor smile at the interjection. "We'll spar again next month; I expect you to have a strategy for what to do if I try and tie you up next time."

Taylor's spiders began to work on cutting his binds as she walked over to Rias. Her expression turned more serious. "Your decision is sound. I guess you want me to spend my weekend staking out Kuoh trying to find our intruder?"

Rias grinned at the approval. "You are my best reconnaissance asset; maybe you can use the free time to work on your chess game."

Taylor rolled her eyes at the jab. "Well, shall we head home for the evening?"

Rias quickly replied, "No, I still need to give Yuuto his assignment. How about you head home without me."

Taylor smirked at her response, but turned around and made her way to the changing room. Rias walked back over to where Koneko was helping Yuuto remove the webbing. After all, there was no way she was going to miss an opportunity for cake.

* * *

Taylor sat down at her favorite cafe in Kuoh and pulled out a pile of papers for grading. She honestly did enjoy being a teacher, but she at times wondered if it somehow actually involved more paperwork than when she had worked with the Protectorate.

'Still,' she thought, 'it could be worse.' She smiled at the image of the massive stack of paper she had seen on Sirzech's desk during her last visit to his office. As she pulled out the first assignment, the waitress brought her usual cup of tea and set it on the table. Taylor gave her a small smile and then turned her attention to the paper.

All the while, her swarm was keeping tabs on the entire area, looking for any irregularities that would lead her to the rogue exorcist that was in town. She was just about to take a sip of her tea when her bugs picked up a familiar voice.

She redistributed her swarm so as to get a better view: it was Issei walking with a girl she did not recognize. From the way they were dressed it was obviously a date. Taylor frowned. She was already far more aware of her students' sex lives than she was comfortable with, and given Issei's personality, she was not particularly inclined to track this date.

Was it worth looking into? One of her students dating someone she didn't recognize was not a red flag in and of itself, but...the boy being Issei was. Assuming Rias was correct about him holding a Sacred Gear, that would make him a prime target for either the church or the fallen. The girl could very possibly be attempting to recruit the boy for one of the factions.

Sighing, Taylor set her tea down and resigned herself to what she assumed would be another uncomfortable experience.

* * *

Raynare faked a smile at the boy holding her hand. Her date so far had been excruciatingly boring. Just wandering around an arcade, going shopping and out to lunch. The boy hadn't even tried to take advantage of her or trick her into going to a love hotel. He may have talked a good game, but when he got an opportunity to get some action he just became another predictable member of his species.

Even worse, this whole day had been nothing but a giant waste of time. If the boy's sacred gear had been something interesting, she could have recruited him and gotten some acknowledgment from Azazel, but it was nothing more than a common Twice Critical.

It was almost comedic for such a waste of space to have one; after all, what good was the ability to double your own power if you had no power begin with? Maybe it would be for the best if he just disappeared; it wasn't like anyone would care about someone like him.

She smiled as she saw the beautiful little park where the boy was escorting her. The grass was lush and the trees were swaying lightly in the breeze, at the center there was an ornate fountain framed by the setting sun, and best of all there were no witnesses around. At the very least she would be able to take out her frustration on the boy without any of the cleanup.

As they arrived at the park she turned to the boy. "Issei," she began, "can I ask you a question?"

* * *

Issei was ecstatic; the date with Yuuma had gone off without a hitch. His nights reading up on proper first date etiquette had paid off splendidly. She had been nothing but smiles for the entirety of the date, and now she was even holding his hand! As they approached the park to part ways he had to suppress his hope that, just maybe, she would ask for a kiss to cap it off.

Upon arriving at the park, Yuuma let go of his hand and turned to him, the setting sun silhouetting her perfect figure.

"Issei, can I ask you a question? There's something I would like to do."

Issei felt butterflies in his stomach and found himself having a hard time looking directly at her. He smiled and responded, "Of course, you can ask me anything at all."

"Would you die for me?"

Issei almost answered yes immediately before what had actually asked hit him. Confused, he assumed that he must have misheard the question. "Could you repeat that? I must have misheard..."

Yuuma didn't answer immediately. She slinked up to him, wrapping her arms around him and bringing her lips close to his ear. "I was wondering," she whispered, "if you would you die for me?"

"Wha..." he started as she pulled away from him. Her clothing dissolved into nothing before being replaced with straps, like something a dominatrix would wear. Two giant black wings erupted from her back. Issei took a panicked step backward before his legs gave way beneath him; he stared up at her in shock.

Yuuma sniffed as she looked down at him. "Thank you for the lovely date, Issei, but I've thought of something much more fun for us to do together." Red light coalesced in her hand and formed a glowing spear. "Don't worry Issei, it will only hurt for a moment."

Issei's heart pounded as he watched her raise the spear, the tip trained directly on him, but his limbs refused to move. Her eyes too on a manic gleam, but before she could thrust the spear into him, a knife whistled through the air and sank deep into her shoulder.

The world seemed to pause as Issei watched the girl stand over him, spear still raised, her smile replaced with a look of shock. The moment broke as a dark blur flew past him and slammed into Yuuma. An instant later and the scene had changed. Yuuma still stood there, but her arm hung limp, blood running down it from the now gaping wound. The spear she had been holding had disappeared. Behind her stood Miss Hebert holding the bloody knife tight to the girl's throat. His teacher's expression was disturbingly calm, as though nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

Miss Hebert held his gaze. When she spoke, her words were slow and measured. "Issei, are you injured?"

Issei found himself frozen in place, completely unable to respond.

He then heard Yuuma speak up, "Why do you even care? He is jus..." Her voice cut off with a whimper, and Issei saw a bead of red roll down Yuuma's throat as the knife bit into her skin.

Issei felt chills run down his spine at his sensei's tone. "You do not get to speak unless I ask you a question. Is that understood?"

He heard Yuuma choke out a yes, and then Miss Hebert's attention was upon him again, her voice calm once more. "Issei, tell me if you are injured."

Finally, Issei found his voice again, "N-no sensei, I'm n-not hurt."

Miss Hebert smiled. "Good, then just stay there while I take care of this. It will only take a moment."

Issei finally felt his mind actually process the scene before him. Here was his sensei, who had given him advice earlier this week, calmly smiling at him with a knife to the neck of another girl. The image was unsettling in a way he had never experienced before.

Needing answers he asked, "Hebert-sensei what is going on? Are you going to kill Yuuma?"

Miss Hebert sighed. "No, Issei, I won't kill her. I'm just going to have a short conversation with Yuuma here and then I'll get you an explanation. Is that okay?"

Issei nodded in acceptance. Miss Hebert turned her attention back to Yuuma. Issei tried to listen to what was being said, but there was a sudden swell of cicada chirps, which drowned out their voices

After what felt like an eternity later—but was probably only a few seconds—Miss Hebert released Yuuma, and the girl disappeared in a flash of light.

Miss Hebert walked over to him and offered a hand. Issei grabbed it and she pulled him to his feet.

"Follow me Issei. I'll get you an explanation."

* * *

Raynare appeared in her room at the church and felt her legs give out in relief. She was terrifie… furious at that bitch, acting like she could threaten her and tell her to leave just because she had gotten lucky with an ambush. Raynare had half a mind to go out and hunt the bitch down herself. There was no way that devil could be stronger than her, but she was injured so she had an excu… couldn't go herself.

This was a perfect job for Freed. The former exorcist was wonderfully effective at hunting down devils, and his predilections would be adequate retribution for her injuries. Raynare started getting up to go fetch him, but stopped to reconsider when she felt the pain shoot through her arm. She shuddered at the thought of what that psychopath would have tried to do to her if she went to him while she was injured.

Quickly, she grabbed some bandages and began wrapping her shoulder while casting a weak healing spell on them. Her revenge could wait until tomorrow.

* * *

 **A/N:** As always thank you to my beta reader GlassGirlCeci, this chapter would have been pretty terrible without her. Sorry this is so late, I had a rough draft done early February but I ended up scrapping it because I felt that I was forcing the plot of this arc in a direction rather than just letting Taylor warp it with her presence. So after the rewrites and reworking of the arc this is what I ended up with and I think it is much better. I hope you all enjoy it, hopefully the next one won't take so long.


	13. Last Rites

Issei felt numb as he followed his teacher through the dark streets. Yuuma had spent the whole day with him. She had been smiling and laughing at his jokes, she had thanked him when he had won her a bracelet from the arcade, and it had all been a ruse. Just her toying with him so she could get him alone and kill him. Why did she even want to kill him? He was nothing special, just a normal high school student.

The other source of his questions walked ahead of him seemingly unfazed by the night's events. Miss Hebert had saved him from Yuuma, but the way she had done so scared him almost as much as the attempted murder had. She had interrupted Yuuma's strike with almost insulting ease, all the while appearing calmer then he had ever seen her before. Issei couldn't shake the feeling that his teacher was more comfortable holding a bloody knife to a girl's throat then she was lecturing a class.

Looking past her, he took in the huge mansion she was escorting him to. It loomed over them imposingly. Who would have guessed Miss Hebert lived in a place like that? The door opened as they approached, revealing the second-most popular girl in the school, Akeno Himejima. As they entered the mansion his teacher spoke up, "Akeno, can you go make us some tea? I think Issei here needs a hot drink."

Himejima-senpai bowed shallowly to Miss Hebert. "Rias is waiting for you in the study; I'll be up in a moment with some tea."

Issei felt a memory tug at him with the mention of Rias. A myth he heard around school and had dismissed as a flight of fancy: that the most beautiful girls in the school were all Youkai looking for students to spirit away.

He thought about running for a moment, but after catching Miss Hebert's expectant look, decided that would only make things worse. He followed his teacher through the house and into a large room. The walls were covered in shelves housing thick books. The room was furnished with a multitude of comfortable-looking chairs with lamps sitting next to them and an ornate desk in the corner. In the center of the room were two couches facing each other, a low table in between them. On one of the couches sat Rias.

Miss Hebert escorted Issei to the other couch and he sat down; she went across from him and sat next to Rias.

Rias showed him a comfortable smile before speaking, "Hyoudou-san, I know you must feel overwhelmed. I want you to take your time and ask any questions you might have, and I'll do my best to answer them."

Rias then fell silent. Thinking back to the events from earlier, he was half-tempted to shut his eyes in the hope of waking up to a world that made sense again. There were so many questions he wanted to ask. Why had Yuuma tried to kill him? Why did she grow wings? Why did Miss Hebert bring him to Rias after saving him? His mind spinning, Issei opened his mouth to ask whatever question would leap out first.

"What are your measurements?"

Rias's face turned bright red, and Miss Hebert gave him a glare that would have been the scariest thing he had ever seen were it not for the rest of the evening. Issei stuttered an apology, "I-I'm sorry! I'm n-not sure why that c-came out."

Rias waved him off, still blushing. "It's—it's fine, I'm sure you must be very nervous. How about you try again with a more relevant question?"

Taking a deep breath, Issei opened his mouth only to nearly jump out of his skin as the door to the study opened with a light creak.

Turning around, he saw Akeno approaching holding a tray with four steaming teacups on it. She walked to the table and set the tray down before sitting next to him and handing him a teacup.

Sipping on the tea, Issei felt his nerves die down slightly. Looking up, he finally asked his question, "Why did Yuuma try and kill me?"

Rias answered him gravely, "I can't tell you the answer to that for certain, but I can tell you why she noticed you. In your soul lies a powerful artifact placed there by God. This 'Yuuma' must have found out about it and went on the date with you to try and identify it."

"My soul has a—wait, Yuuma grew wings!" Issei stiffened as the realization hit him, tea forgotten. "Are you all really Youkai? Are you going to spirit me away?"

As soon as he asked the second question he heard a giggle come from beside him, and he looked over to see Akeno covering her mouth in an attempt to stifle it. Looking forward, he saw Miss Hebert still sipping her tea calmly, but Rias had put her head in her hand, mumbling, "If I ever find who started that stupid rumor, there's going to be hell to pay."

Rias then looked up and met his eyes. "We aren't Youkai, Issei. We're devils."

Issei felt his heart skip a beat, and he swallowed. He tried to keep his voice steady as he said, "Are you going to take my soul?"

Rias raised her hands placatingly. "No Hyoudou-san, our species has not been actively stealing human souls for a very long time. We aren't going to do anything to you without your permission. Look, you said Yuuma grew wings, right? She was probably a Fallen Angel interested in your Sacred Gear, but she won't be a problem anymore; I am responsible for this land and I will make sure she leaves before harming anyone else. You don't need to worry."

Issei nodded, sinking back into his chair. He licked his lips then took another sip of his tea, trying to relax. "Sacred Gear...that's the thing in my soul? What does that mean? Why do I have one?"

Rias smiled at him reassuringly. "No one knows how a Sacred Gear chooses its host, Hyoudou-san, but what it means is that you are important. Sacred Gears are rare, and the people who do have them often go on to do great things. There will be no way for you to completely avoid the attention of the magical organizations, though there are methods available for you to delay doing so for a while yet. Luckily, the Sacred Gear will also give you the power to handle their attention once you awaken it."

"Okay..." Issai said hesitantly. The whole Sacred Gear thing still did not make much sense, but he could accept that it was a problem. "Is there any way I can get rid of it?"

Rias shook her head. "Not without dying. The Sacred Gear is attached to your soul, so its removal would kill you instantly. As I see it, you currently have three options."

She raised one finger. "The first option is that we remove your memories of tonight. As far as you're aware, it will be like this day never happened and you will go on living you life as you had. Though you should keep in mind that your Sacred Gear will awaken no matter what, so even if you're under our protection you'll have to deal with it eventually."

Rias raised a second finger as she continued, "The second option is that we do nothing, and you keep all of your memories. You would be expected to keep quiet about all of this, but other than that there would be no rules imposed on you, and of course you would always be welcome to visit the club and we would do our best to answere any questions you might have."

"Your third option is a bit special. I could turn you into a devil. It would probably be the safest option for you, since you would gain a lot of power and become a part of my peerage, meaning you would gain the full protection of my family. Of course, if you take that option you'd be expected to serve me for a while."

Issei stared as Rias finished speaking. Memory wipes? Peerages? Their school club was some kind of front? Rias could turn people into devils? For what felt like the dozenth time today, Issei felt himself start to hyperventilate as he tried to cope the revelations. Rias leaned forward and grabbed him by the hand. "Calm down, Issei. I know it's overwhelming; for now, how about you take a few days to think about it?"

Issei took a deep breath and nodded at the suggestion. Rias gave him a comforting smile before turning towards Akeno. "Akeno, please escort Hyoudou-san home and set up some wards around his house."

Rias let go of his hand and Issei stood up. Looking next to him, he saw the raven-haired beauty smile. "Follow me, Hyoudou-san. I'll make sure you get home safely."

Issei could only follow mutely as the girl led him out of the manor.

* * *

As the door shut, Taylor glanced at Rias. "I thought you weren't going to try and recruit him immediately."

Rias smiled back. "That was before I got a chance to really get a grip on his power. He has incredible potential; it would take all eight of my pawns to reincarnate him."

Taylor raised an eyebrow, "That's quite impressive. But are you sure you want to commit so soon? He could cause problems for you if he doesn't learn some self control."

Rias considered for a moment before answering, "He isn't that bad from what I have seen, honestly I think he would get along disturbingly well with my father. Regardless you know how big a victory it could be for me to recruit someone with as much potential as him."

"If that is what you want, just don't expect me to give him any special treatment in school." Taylor streched lightly as she stood up from the couch. "So you are going to give him a few days to recover and then bring it up again?"

Rias nodded. "Yep. I figured us getting rid of that Fallen would help endear us to him. Speaking of which, what can you tell me about her?"

Taylor walked over to the desk in the corner and pulled out a map. "As best I can tell, the Fallen was nothing more than a grunt. I left some bugs laced with a tracking spell in her hair before she left." Taylor pointed to the map. "She teleported to the abandoned church here."

Rias looked at the map, dumbfounded. "She's a Fallen Angel hiding out at an abandoned church? Is she a Batman villain?"

Taylor stayed on topic despite Rias's reaction. "Sadly, the church is out of my range; I was planning on swinging by and taking a quick look around in a moment."

Rias grew serious again. "All right, gather the information tonight. If it looks clear, we can move in tomorrow to capture her and any allies she might have. Odds are that at least our rogue exorcist is working with her; it's too large a coincidence for them to be in town at the same time otherwise. Based on what you saw, do you think we can use this as a training exercise?"

"I can't say for sure until I gather more information, but unless she's significantly weaker than the other Fallen and exorcists present, it seems doable."

Rias nodded. "Well then, please hurry up and scout out the church—I want you back here before I go to bed tonight." She smiled. "You know I don't sleep nearly as well without my favorite body pillow."

Taylor smiled as well. "You know, when I said you could sleep with me the first time all those years ago, I assumed you would grow out of it."

Rias stuck her tongue out and Taylor rolled her eyes exaggeratedly before teleporting herself a few blocks away from the church.

* * *

Taylor heard the conversations in the classroom hush as she opened the door. She walked to the front of the class and turned to them to give the day's assignment. "Today, we're going to be working on conversational English. I want all of you to split off into groups of no more than four and discuss any school appropriate topic you wish in English. I will be walking around and joining each of the conversations in turn."

She paused for a moment as the students all stood up and began arranging themselves, before pointing at Issei and his two friend who had converged at the back of the classroom. She suppressed a frown as Issei flinched at her attention. "Oh, and you three are not allowed to be in the same group."

"Eh!" The classroom exploded into noise. "I don't want to talk with them!" "None of them will even talk with us!"

Taylor glared and the room fell silent. After a moment, Issei said a simple, "Yes, Miss Hebert," and walked over to another group of students who hurriedly made room for him. A moment later, Matsuda and Motohama shared a surprised look before each went to join two more of the groups.

Satisfied, Taylor nodded, and soon the classroom filled with sound as the groups started their conversations.

As Taylor walked over to one of the groups, her swarm detected something approaching the school through the forest at a high speed.

With a ripple of curiosity, Taylor began coordinating her swarm. She moved some of her insects with better sight into the intruder's predicted path while also landing some flies on them. Closer to the school, she amassed a larger swarm and used them to create a magic circle that formed a portal to one of the pocket dimensions Ajuka had helped her set up.

Out of the portal crawled hundreds upon hundreds of spiders. They scattered into the trees and began weaving webs.

The intruder finally entered the view of one of her observation swarms, and she saw a young man with shoulder-length white hair wearing the robe of an exorcist and the hilt of a light sword in one hand.

Noting that he was heading towards a small clearing, Taylor moved her spiders to the surrounding trees and sent a swarm of fliers to land in the grass.

"No," she said, focusing on the floundering student in front of her, "'I rode the bus', Ishida-san, not 'I did got on bus'. The vocabulary is excusable, but you should have a stronger grasp of articles and past tense by now. Matsuda-san, could you explain his mistake?"

As her students continued working, out in the forest the exorcist was entering the clearing. With a thought, she set her spiders leaping onto him in a great mass, tangling him in heaps of silk. The man immediately activated his sword and began cutting at the web, so she sacrificed a few spiders to shock the man with some low level lightning magic, and he dropped the sword as his arm spasmed.

A moment later, now that the man was restrained, she used her fliers to form a swarm clone in front of him. "You are approaching a restricted area. Stay there and I'll come pick you up for questioning after school."

The man frowned. "Ah, how long is that going to take?"

Taylor responded, "About an hour."

The exorcist began to giggle. "Well then, I look forward to meeting you!"

Taylor dissolved the clone, keeping an eye on the creepy exorcist with her observation swarms. Back in her classroom, Taylor had to suppress a sigh; she had been planning to use the time tonight before the raid on the abandoned church to grade the papers that she wasn't able to get to yesterday. Now it looked like she was going to have to deal with this instead.

As she stepped away from the group she had been working with, she actually did sigh as Motohama and Aika began loudly insulting each others' privates. Taylor shook her head and made her way over to end the argument.

She silently wondered if she should be proud that they were doing it in perfect English, or just wishing she could solve this by covering them in spiders.

* * *

Stuck in the web, Freed rocked impatiently. It felt like hours since the shitty devil had said she would come and see him, and the only way he had to pass the time was to fantasize about what he would do to her when she arrived. He reveled in the imagery of her struggling to crawl away bleeding from the multitude of stab wounds he had inflicted, as he followed behind applying another one every few seconds. Tormenting her, teasing her with the prospect of relief only to snatch it away; today he would relish in the slow, exquisite art of pain. If she was pretty maybe he would even take the time to—

The sound of a branch snapping pulled Freed out of his ruminations, and he looked up to see a tall Western woman with long black hair enter the clearing. Freed was almost disappointed; his target had to be the one that had trapped him. That meant he would only get to kill one shitty devil today. Still, it was at least convenient, so he smiled broadly as she stepped closer.

The devil stopped a few feet away, looking down at him through narrowed eyes. "Why did you come here?" she asked coolly.

Freed laughed to himself as he imagined his plan again. "Well," he said, "since my stupid boss wants you dead for ambushing her, I came here to kill some of the shitty little brats so I could draw you out and kill you. But if you're going to save me the trouble..."

As he finished speaking, Freed slid the second light sword he kept up his sleeve into his hand. In a single smooth motion, he activated it and cut himself free, leaping up onto his feet. As soon as his feet hit the ground he transitioned into a lunge aiming straight for her chest. The stupid devil didn't even dodge. Freed shuddered with glee as he felt his blade slide into her flesh.

He looked up, anticipating seeing the realization of her fate in the devil's eyes, only to be met with an expression of boredom and contempt. The devil tilted her head, "I thought you said you came here to kill me."

She thought she could taunt him? With a furious cry, Freed swung wide, ripping the blade through the devil's chest and lopping her left arm clean off. He then attacked with a vicious swing meant to decapitate the arrogant shit.

This time, the devil reacted. Her right hand grabbed his arm and stopped the strike. She squeezed, and pain wracked through Freed as he heard his bones break with a sickening crunch. Desperate to counterattack, he used his left hand to draw the pistol he kept in his robe and aim it at the devil's head, but when he pulled the trigger nothing happened. Looking closer, he saw the gun was covered in webbing and spiders.

The devil released his arm, but before Freed was able to use the opening to his advantage, her arm rushed out once again, this time grabbing him by the throat. She lifted him into the air and spiders began streaming down arm and restraining him much more thoroughly then they had previously.

While he was being tied up, Freed watched as more insects flew from the surroundings into her chest wound and seemed to meld into her flesh. On the forest floor, the dismembered arm dissolved into a mass of centipedes which crawled up her body to the stump of her arm, where they too began to meld into her flesh.

Buzzing. Chittering, squelching, skittering, the air was filled with the noise of thousands upon thousands of insects doing the bidding of their master.

After a only few moments the devil stood whole, looking as if she had never been injured at all.

"I have to say," he rasped through her choke-hold, "that's kinda sick even for a devil. Is your whole body bugs, then?"

She didn't respond. As the webs tightened to the point that it was impossible for Freed to move, the devil let go of his throat and spoke, "So, you said you're allied with that Fallen holed up in the abandoned church? Then I have some questions for you."

Freed smirked. "Why would I answer the questions of a shitty devil?"

Then he gasped as something pricked his shoulder. In one instant it was a needle burning through his skin, then the next an excruciating white-hot pain radiated from the location and wracked his entire body. As this was happening, a circle appeared next to the devil. She reached into it and pulled out a syringe.

"That was the bite of a bullet ant. This," she said, tapping the syringe, "is a concentrated form of its venom. It is completely non-toxic but is said to be the single most painful substance the world has ever produced. You will answer my questions or I will continue injecting you with larger doses."

Freed was starting to sweat from the pain, but he couldn't help but let out a wheezing laugh. "Why...why should I care that you're going to hurt me? I just have to hold up for a few hours and then you'll let—let me go on my way, just like you did my bitch of a boss."

The devil looked him square in the eyes, her expression tinged with cold rage. "You came here with the intention of murdering my students just to get to me," she said, her words soft and even but razor-sharp. "I will kill you; the only question that remains is how long it will take me to do so."

"Don't try and bluff me," Freed spat. "You're too chicken—ah" his words were interrupted by another wave of pain, "Too—too chickenshit to follow through with it. There's no way you're going to risk an incident by killing an agent of the Grigori."

The devil's smirk did not reach her eyes. "I don't see an agent of the Grigori. I see a rogue exorcist attacking a school that houses the younger sisters of Lucifer and Leviathan. I'm sure the letter of apology that Sirzechs will send Azazel about this little misunderstanding will be quite sincere."

The devil's expression grew serious again, and Freed gasped as he felt the syringe pierce his arm. "Now, you're going to tell me how many Fallen and exorcists are currently stationed at the abandoned church."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks once again to my beta reader GlassGirlCeci for her quick work. This was one of my most anticipated chapters I have been waiting to show off some of the neat tricks that Taylor incorperated into her aresenal using Demonic Power. While this isn't everything she can do it should give you a good idea of what fighting her is like. Anyway don't expect the next chapter to come as quick as this one but it shouldn't take as long as my last.


	14. Assault

Rias sat in the club room fiddling with a chess piece as she attempted to distract herself from the operation planned for this evening. It was nerve-wracking, knowing that in a few hours she was going to order her peerage to attack a group of Fallen. It was a decision that had the potential to restart the Great War, and if it did, that would be squarely on her shoulders. She knew that it was supremely unlikely that anything would come from something this minor; truce or no truce, small conflicts between the factions were not uncommon occurrences, but the thought still weighed heavily on her mind.

Rias took a deep breath and dismissed the thought, instead focusing on Akeno, who was sitting across the table attempting to distract her from her introspection by informing her of the most recent scandal to grip the school. "—just confessed to his girlfriend that I talked him into letting me tie him up last weekend, so I expect that to be the center of gossip for the next week. Still, it is cute that Takeuchi-san confessed to his girlfriend like that; that took more guts than I credited him."

Rias sighed at her friend's antics. "You know, you would be a lot more popular with the girls in the school if you just targeted boys who aren't in relationships."

Akeno responded with a wicked grin, "But it's so much more fun if the relationship is taboo!"

Rias rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to rebuke her friend's idea of fun, but cut herself off as the low buzzing that had been filling the building for the last two hours suddenly quieted.

Akeno glanced around at the lack of noise. "Well, I guess Taylor finally calmed down. I wonder what had her so riled up."

Rias frowned. "Taylor told me an exorcist had approached the school during the day and that she was going to talk with him."

Akeno arched an eyebrow. "Oh, well I doubt he very much enjoyed the conversation if she reacted like that." A mischievous grin slid onto her face as she continued, "Though I must say, I am surprised you let her go alone; she was heading into a potentially hostile situation and I know how much you hate to be separated from your oneesan."

Rias blushed heavily. "I only ever said that once, and it was the first time I was ever drunk!" Rias took a deep breath before striking back, "Also, I am pretty sure we agreed to never bring up anything that was revealed that night ever again—or do I need to remind you about that odd fantasy about your father you revealed to me that night?"

Akeno looked shocked for a moment, before beginning to blush intensely herself. She opened her mouth for what Rias was hoping was an apology, but was interrupted by the door opening.

Rias suppressed a giggle at the little jump Akeno did and turned to see Issei walk through the door. Rias gave him her best smile. "Hyoudou-san, it's good to see you. Is there something we can help you with?"

Issei looked around. "Um, I was just looking for Miss Hebert. I wanted to tell her that I finished scrubbing down the boys locker room."

Akeno spoke up, "Well she probably already knows, she has the entire school bugged."

Issei's eyes widened. "So the rumors are true, she does have cameras all over the school."

Rias gave Akeno a glare, only for her Bishop to return a remorseless grin. "No, Taylor just has very extended senses; it's why she always knows when there is trouble nearby. Anyway, she will be back soon; you're welcome to wait here and tell her, or I can do it for you if you want to head home."

The boy looked conflicted for a moment, before walking further into the room and sitting down on the couch across from Rias.

Rias signaled Akeno to go get some refreshments before returning her attention to Issei. "Well, if you're going wait here, do you have any questions you want to ask?"

Issei looked up. "Um, yeah. You said Miss Hebert has extended senses; is that part of being a devil?"

Rias shook her head. "No, that is part of her Sacred Gear. The only thing becoming a devil does for your senses is better night vision."

Issei perked up at that. "Miss Hebert has a Sacred Gear like me? Does that mean she could teach me how to use mine?"

"Not in the way you're thinking. There are a lot of different types of Sacred Gears, and even among them Taylor's is unique—and if my instincts are correct, yours is as well. Still, once it activates, we will help you get it under control and give you some advice on its use."

Issei looked thoughtful. "And what if I chose to become a devil?"

Rias smiled widely as the door opened for Akeno carrying a tray with tea and cookies. "How about Akeno pours us all a cup of tea, and then I tell you everything about becoming a devil over snacks?"

* * *

Taylor splashed the cold water from the sink up onto her face. She had been forced to push more and more of her anger into her swarm in order to stay under control as the exorcist had described what he had been planning to do to her students. Now she needed to deal with it; it would be bad to go into combat with her emotions so compromised. She took a deep breath and centered herself.

Torture was not her preferred method of interrogation; it was unreliable, and the fact that part of her enjoyed it reminded her uncomfortably of Sophia. Still, the asshole had more than earned his fate, and she had not had enough time for anything more sophisticated.

The information she had extracted from him about the strength and numbers of the enemy had largely lined up with her own reconnaissance; the only thing she had gotten that she'd been unaware of was that the exorcist claimed they were a rogue group, here without orders from the Fallen's leadership. It was interesting, as it implied some pretty major dissent among that faction, but without further confirmation it was not actionable. The information had too high a possibility of being a trap.

Feeling herself come further under control, Taylor left the washroom and made her way to the club room. The last she had checked, Rias had been giving her sales pitch on becoming a devil to Issei, and she should probably go in to give the boy an excuse to escape if that was what he wanted.

Taylor approached the door, paying just enough attention to tell that they were still talking, and then entered quietly.

As she stepped inside, an excited voice rang out, "So I would be able to use those to make a harem!"

She looked at the other occupants of the room. Rias had a faint blush on her cheeks and looked conflicted on how to respond to the statement. Akeno, on the other hand, had brought her hand up to her mouth and looked like she was trying to stifle a major fit of laughter.

"What is this I hear about a harem?"

Issei turned around, and as he did she watched the blood drain from his face, leaving him a remarkable shade of white. "M-miss Hebert. I f-finished cleaning the locker r-room."

Taylor smiled coldly at the boy. "I know. The janitor told me you did a wonderful job. Now, what was that I heard about a harem?"

Issei wore an expression like he was walking to his own execution as he continued, "R-Rias was telling me that once I b-became a high rank d-devil I could form my own peerage. I thought about m-my long term dream of becoming a harem k-king..." His voice had become progressively smaller as he spoke, and at the end he was looking more at the ground than her.

"Have you already forgotten what we talked about in my office?" she asked, her voice chill. "How could you be a 'harem king' and still respect those girls?"

She glanced at Rias and Akeno. Akeno had an eyebrow raised, watching the back and forth, but Rias had the slightest of grins on her face as she locked eyes with Taylor. She knew her too well. Taylor hid a smirk of her own and turned back to Issei. "Well?"

"I..." Issei closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then looked back up to face her with renewed conviction. "I would fully let them know what they were getting into before they joined and respect their decision. If they found they didn't like that lifestyle, they could leave without judgment."

"It sounds like you've been doing some reading." The boy nodded at her statement, blushing. She held his gaze just long enough for him to start fidgeting, then finally relented. "Well, if that's your intention I won't dissuade you. Just don't pressure anyone, got it?"

The boy nodded vigorously, an expression of disbelief on his face. "You aren't going to get me expelled?"

Taylor allowed her smile to warm. "Hyoudou-san, as long as the relationship is consensual I don't care what you do. Plus, I've been a devil for six years now; harems are not all that uncommon in the underworld."

Issei was left gaping at her, at which point Akeno decided to speak up, "Of course she doesn't have a problem. After all she spends every night sleeping with someone who has a fian—" she cut off abruptly into a fit of coughs as a fly happened to go down her throat.

Issei looked confused. "What?"

"Ignore Akeno," Rias replied, a forced smile on her face, "she loves to tell stories. Especially ones that are bad for her health."

Taylor decided to change the subject before Issei could respond. "Well, Hyoudou-san, I'm glad you liked what you heard about becoming a devil, but I need to cut this conversation short."

Issei whipped around to look at her. "What? Why?"

It was Rias who answered. "Tonight we are going to drive out Yuuma and her entourage from Kuoh."

Issei sat back for a moment, eyes wide, before his expression turned serious. "Can I come with you? I have something I want to ask her."

"No, Hyoudou-san," Rias said. "This could be dangerous, and I can't justify bringing a civilian."

"What if you turned me into devil first? Then it wouldn't be a problem, right?"

Rias shook her head. "If you joined my peerage, I would order you not to come. A battle is no place for a brand new devil."

Taylor noticed Issei was about to speak up again, so she forestalled him, "Hyoudou-san, I know what you want, but you will not get any satisfying answers from her. Go take a walk and relax. We can discuss this more tomorrow."

Issei frowned slightly in disappointment, then nodded. "Yes, Miss Hebert. I'll see you tomorrow." He stood up and offered them a short bow, then turned and left the room.

Rias looked towards Akeno. "Can you go get Yuuto and Koneko? I want to talk to Taylor before the attack."

Akeno nodded and quickly followed Issei out.

Rias glanced up. "Do you think I just blew my chance of recruiting him by saying no?"

"He'll get over it," Taylor said. Her smile grew wry. "And given his ambition, I don't think you'll have a problem getting him to say yes later."

"If you say so," Rias said with a chuckle. Then she really focused on Taylor, growing serious. "So...what happened with the exorcist? You didn't bring him along, so I'm guessing that he wasn't here as a messenger."

Taylor felt her anger flare again at the thought of that psychopath coming near the school. "He was an underling of the Fallen, sent here to kill me."

Rias' eyes hardened. "Is he dead?" Then her expression grew concerned as she seemed to notice something else. "Wait, you changed your clothes—did he actually get some hits in on you?"

"Only because I let him. I wanted to interrogate him, and I needed him to understand that resistance was hopeless. And yes, he is dead; he was planning on attacking the students to draw me out."

Rias sighed. "Taylor, you need to stop doing that. I know you say you're just fully leveraging your power, but it's dangerous. What if someone has an ability that can bypass your regeneration?"

"He was just carrying a light sword;," Taylor argued gently, "you know I've tested against that already."

"Well, if you are going to continue doing that, at least work out how to use that ability to make clones of yourself first. I would feel much better if my Queen wasn't putting herself at risk."

Taylor's rebuttal died on her lips at Rias' genuinely worried tone. This was an old debate between them. There shouldn't be any difference between rebuilding her own body from insects and constructing a new one, but if she could do so, what did that say about her? Would it mean she was still nothing more than a puppet? Just a delusion of her passenger that thought herself a real person?

Taylor pushed the questions to the back of her mind. "You know why I can't. Anyway, would you like to hear the information I extracted from the exorcist?"

Rias hesitated a moment before relenting. "Fine, but this discussion isn't over."

* * *

Taylor stood with the rest of the peerage a short distance away from the abandoned church. Rias spoke to the whole group, "Alright, the plan tonight is for us to capture the Fallen group that has been trampling the ceasefire in our territory." She turned to Akeno and Yuuto. "The goal is no fatalities on either side. I don't want to risk this being the inciting incident that restarts the Great War, so I expect you to put aside your personal grudges against Fallen or exorcists, is that understood?"

In unison, Akeno and Yuuto responded, "Yes, Rias."

Rias nodded. "Good. Alright, I want Yuuto and Koneko to take care of the exorcists. Taylor says there are about fifty of them, so you'll need to be quick. Akeno, you will pair up with me and go for the Fallen; I will provide defense and you will disable them. Taylor, you will establish the perimeter and provide support if necessary. Understood?"

Taylor smiled as the group acknowledged the orders. Rias nodded and then turned to her. "What does the church look like?"

She replied, "As Rias stated earlier, there are forty-three exorcists and four Fallen. From what I've gathered, none of them are powerful enough to be a threat to any of us on their own, but if we aren't careful we could get overwhelmed by their numbers. The exorcists are mostly located in the nave of the church and a secret underground chamber hidden beneath the altar. The offices have been turned into living spaces for the Fallen. That's where all four of them are currently."

Rias nodded at the brief. "So we're going to go in fast and hard, take out as many exorcists as we can before they can properly react, and then we will take out the Fallen as they engage. Any questions?"

The whole peerage shook their heads, and then at Rias' signal they began to move out towards the church.

As they approached, Taylor hung back and used her insects to surround the building, sending a smaller cloud with the other four so she could observe the battle. They came up to the door, and then Rias nodded to Koneko. The diminutive girl walked up to the doors and threw out a kick, and the doors were immediately reduced to splinters which were sent ricocheting through the aisles.

There was an instant of silence as the exorcists looked in shock at the hole where the doors used to stand, and then Yuuto rocketed into the church as a barely visible blur of movement.

In his right hand, he held a blade of pure darkness that seemed to devour all light going into it. Taylor recognized it as Holy Eraser, a sword designed to consume the light blades exorcists favored. In his left, he wielded a dagger with a bright orange blade: Serket's Sting, a blade that produced a small amount of toxin that caused any muscles it touched to painfully seize up for about half an hour.

Yuuto streaked through the church with devastating effectiveness, so fast that Taylor found it easier to keep track of the felled exorcists he left in his wake than Yuuto himself. The air was rent in screams of pain and the thunderous cracking of wood and stone, and only five were left standing by the time they'd been able to manifest their blades. Even that was futile, as Yuuto tore through their light swords with Holy Eraser. In mere moments, every single one had been reduced to screaming lumps on the floor.

Koneko casually followed the trail of bodies, lightly tapping each exorcist on the head and rendering them unconscious. As she was finishing her work, the first Fallen finally responded to the disturbance and stepped into the nave.

The moment she was visible, Akeno gestured and brought down a bolt of lightning on her, causing her to scream out and crumple to the floor.

Akeno practically deflated when it was clear she wouldn't be getting back up, and Taylor smothered her amusement as she made out a faint, disappointed, "Aww, really?" from the Bishop amidst all the chaos.

After Koneko finished with the exorcists in the nave, she went up to the stone altar before grabbing and ripping it out of the ground and then throwing it through one of the walls. Yuuto, once again a blur of speed, launched himself into the passageway with Koneko trailing close behind.

As they went underground, two more of the Fallen exited the offices and approached the nave. Neither of them bothered to enter the room, instead staying back to throw a mass of light spears through the wall.

Rias flicked a finger and a wall of pure darkness appeared in front of the spears, reducing them to nothingness. As soon as the wall dispelled, she gestured again and unleashed a pitch-black fog upon the Fallen.

Taylor felt a strong pang of nostalgia upon seeing the attack. This was Rias' ultimate expression of control, an attack that made the power of destruction only annihilate light and sound, trapping its victims in a sea of black. Taylor remembered how proud Rias had been when she had shown it to her, and how hard it had been to congratulate her on the feat. Silently, Taylor wished Brian well and hoped he and Aisha were still supporting one another on Earth Bet.

Rias withdrew one of the Fallen from the fog for Akeno to deal with before rushing forward and plunging into it to deal with the other Fallen herself.

There was one Fallen left—Yuuma had been hanging back as her allies were decimated. As soon as she saw that Rias and Akeno were occupied with the others, she took off, shooting past them and out the church.

Taylor smiled.

As Yuuma approached the perimeter, Taylor launched herself at the Fallen. Yuuma caught sight of her and started forming a light spear, but she was too slow; Taylor grabbed her by the throat and slammed her knee into the Fallen's stomach.

Taylor converted some of herself into black widows and had them crawl across her arm and onto the Fallen to begin tying her up. Yuuma opened her mouth to say something, but she was still struggling to breathe from the blow to the stomach. Taylor's smile widened. "Don't like spiders? You're very lucky, Yuuma. If the situation was any different, I would kill you for unleashing that sadist on my students."

The Fallen choked out, "My name is Ra—"

Taylor squeezed harder on her throat. "I don't care what your name is. All you need to understand is that if I ever see you again, you will wish for the death I granted that exorcist you sent after me. Is that understood?"

The Fallen wheezed out a yes, and Taylor nodded as she had her black widows web her mouth shut before they finished tying her up.

Taylor flew down into the nave of the church to see the other Fallen all unconscious, and Koneko, Yuuto and Akeno organizing the unconscious exorcists. Taylor handed the tied up Yuuma to Koneko before heading to Rias.

Rias smiled at her. "The operation was a complete success. You were right, these guys weren't even strong enough to count as training."

Taylor hummed in agreement. "You did well. This was a perfectly run operation."

Rias opened her mouth, but Taylor cut her off as she sensed two civilians approaching her perrimeter. "Wait. Hyoudou-san appears to be approaching the church with—" Taylor paused for a moment to confirm her observation.

"Hyoudou-san? Approaching the church with who?"

"With what appears to be a nun."

* * *

 **A/N:** As always thanks to GlassGirlCeci for her assistance beta reading the story.

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, especially Akeno who has always been one of my favorite characters. If your wondering why she is more public with her perversions rather than hiding them behind the yamato nadeshiko, it is because with Taylor taking over the role of Rias' Queen there is a lot less pressure on her to behave herself. I wanted to get that through better in the story but since none of the characters know how she would have behaved as Queen I couldn't find an organic approach to do so.

Anyway how long it will take me to write the next chapter depends upon real life stuff, but I hope to have it out sometime in July at the latest.

Thank you all for reading.


	15. Negotiations Part 1

Issei wandered around town aimlessly. He knew that he should probably be heading home, but he was filled with a restless energy. It made him anxious knowing that Gremory-senpai and her peerage were forcing Yuuma out of town tonight.

He felt his breath hitch and his heart start to beat faster at the though of his would-be murderess. Taking a deep breath, he tried looking into the window of the shops to calm himself down. After tonight she would be out of Kuoh, and he would never have to see her again. Maybe then he could actually get a good night's sleep.

Feeling himself relax, he took a step forward and crashed right into something soft. Snapping his attention back to what was in front of him, he looked down and saw what he bumped into.

It was a girl his own age; she had a small frame but a surprisingly full bust. Her bright blue eyes were so gentle he felt himself relax just from looking at them. Her clothing was odd, robes and an embroidered cloth covering her long blonde hair. Around her neck was a cord with a cross on the end. On the ground next to her was a suitcase, slightly open with clothing spilling out.

Chiding himself for staring, Issei walked forward and put out his hand. "Are you all right?"

" _Scusa,_ " the girl mumbled, before turning to her suitcase and pushing clothes inside.

With the blonde hair and blue eyes she definitely was not native. Maybe she didn't speak Japanese?

Trying again in English, Issei said, "You alright?"

The girl turned to him, her eyes wide. "You speak English?" Her accent was different from Miss Hebert's, but he could still make out what she was saying.

Issei nodded. "Some."

The girl's face broke out into a bright smile as she raised her eyes to the sky and clapped her hands together. " _Ti ringrazio, O Dio che sei nei Cieli, per avermi concesso di avere questo lieto incontro._ " Her focus returned to him, and Issei felt himself melt under the brilliance of her smile. "You are the first person I have been able to talk to since I left the airport."

Issei pointed at the suitcase. "Need help?"

The girl shook her head and then latched it shut. Again Issei put out his hand, and this time she took it so he could pull her to her feet.

Issei pointed to himself. "My name is Issei Hyoudou."

"Nice to meet you, Issei. I am Asia Argento."

"Nice to meet you, Argento-san." Realizing that he was still holding her hand, Issei hurriedly released it.

Argento-san brushed off her robes and then looked back up at Issei. "Do you know where the local church is?" she asked, pointing at her cross.

Issei paused a moment to think. The only church he could think of was the old one at the edge of town, but as far as he knew it was abandoned. Still, it might be what she was looking for. Issei opened his mouth to tell her where to go but felt the words die on his lips; there was no way he was going to be able to give understandable directions in English. Instead, he said, "I know where. Follow?"

Issei turned in the direction of the church and waited a second for Argento-san to fall in next to him, then started walking. In the back of his mind he was already planning on redoubling his effort for English class. If it enabled him to talk with girls this cute, it was well worth the extra effort. He then remembered something Gremory-senpai had said about devils being able to speak all tongues, and he put that up as another point towards taking her offer.

His musings were interrupted by a loud grumble coming from his side. He glanced over to see Argento-san blushing furiously with her hand over her stomach.

"You are hungry?" he asked pointing to his belly.

Argento-san looked down for a moment and then answered with a meek, "Yes."

Issei considered his allowance a moment before deciding it would be going to a good cause. "Come, we get food."

The girl nodded and followed Issei into a fast food shop. He walked her to a booth and then went and picked up a burger for both of them.

As he set the burger down in front of Argento-san, she clapped her hands together and then muttered something quick before devouring the burger like she hadn't eaten in weeks.

Noting the rate she was eating, Issei looked at his burger before sighing and cutting it in half, placing one half on her plate and keeping the rest.

"Why you here?" Issei asked once she'd eaten enough to slow down a bit.

Argento-san's gaze snapped up to him. "What?"

He tried again. "Why you in Kuoh?"

Issei immediately regretted asking, as her expression darkened and he could see the glint of tears in her eyes. "I have nowhere else to go..." Her voice grew quieter. " _Dopo tutto quello che ho fatto mi hanno cacciato via._ "

She looked down at what was left of her meal, then sighed and nudged it towards Issei. "I think I'm full. Thank you for sharing, but you can have the rest. It's your burger-"

Issei shook his head emphatically. "No, you are hungry. Take for later, it is for you."

Argento-san then looked back up at him, tears still at the edges of her eyes. She seemed to be searching for something, and whatever it was, when she found it an honest smile spread on her face. "Thank you."

Relieved the moment had passed, Issei left the booth and offered a hand to help Argento-san out. "Church now?"

The girl nodded, still smiling.

"You know..." she said quietly, "if coming here means I got to meet someone as nice as you, maybe it'll be okay."

* * *

From the foot of the hill, Issei could see the building looming at the summit. The windows were boarded up and it looked like the front doors were missing. The area surrounding it was completely overgrown and he could see weeds sticking up through cracks in the sidewalk. With the noise of the wind passing through the trees and the shadows caused by the setting sun, the building looked haunted. Given what he had recently learned about the supernatural, he was seriously considering the possibility.

He glanced to his side to see Argento-san with her head lowered and the cross she wore around her neck clutched in her hand, quietly speaking in her native tongue. Issei looked on quietly until she raised her head again, then asked, "Correct church?"

"I think so," the girl said hesitantly. "Thank you for helping me find it. You should probably start heading home now. I can make it the rest of the way myself."

Issei glanced again at the decrepit building before turning back to Argento-san. "No. If is empty I can not leave. You need place to stay tonight if wrong."

The girl looked at him for a moment with a confused expression, before a look of understanding dawned on her face. "Oh, you don't need to do that. You've been more than kind just helping me find this place."

Issei shook his head. "No. Not leave alone."

"Alright. Thank you again, Issei." She took a deep breath and then turned to the church. "Let's go."

With that, they started making their way up the path. Halfway up the hill, a loud buzzing sound erupted from their surroundings. Insects flew from the overgrowth, converging into a massive formless swarm surrounding them.

Issei felt Argento-san clutch his arm and pull herself in tight to him, but he was too distracted by the massive swarm to properly enjoy the experience. A few seconds later, an opening formed in the swarm, and the silhouette of a tall woman walked out of it.

"Miss Hebert?" Issei asked, dumbstruck, but his teacher ignored him. Her eyes were focused on the girl clutching his arm.

She walked forward a few steps before pausing. She seemed to take a moment to gather herself, then spoke, " _Sera sono Taylor Hebert, Regina del Peeraggio di Rias Gremory. E voi chi sareste?_ "

He felt Argento-san tighten her grip as she looked up at Miss Hebert. " _Mi... mi chiamo Asia Argento._ "

Miss Hebert stood still for a moment, a puzzled expression on her face. When she spoke again, the question was obvious in her tone. " _La Santa Vivente?_ "

Argento-san's voice was quiet. " _Non più._ "

Tired of being ignored, Issei spoke up in Japanese, "Miss Hebert, what is going on? What did you say to Argento-san?"

His teacher glanced at him before coming closer. As she did so, an intricate circle of light formed at the tip of her finger. She then tapped Issei on the middle of the forehead.

"Is that better, Issei?"

Issei looked up at her, confused. "Is what better?" As he finished asking the question, he heard a gasp from behind him.

He turned and saw Argento-san looking at him. "Issei, you are speaking Italian."

"What? That's impossible." But even as he said it he heard the unfamiliar sounds flow off his lips. He turned back to Miss Hebert. "How?"

She smiled at him. "Just a little translation spell. It will wear off in about an hour, but that should make things easier in the meantime." She then refocused her attention on Argento-san. "So, why have you come to this church?"

Issei could hear Argento-san swallow before she answered, "I am looking for a Fallen Angel by the name of Raynare."

Issei felt like he had been punched in the gut. Miss Hebert went on regardless, "I've never heard that name before. There were some Fallen staying in this church, but we just captured them for violating the ceasefire. For now I'll bring you inside the church, and you can bring your request to my King."

Not even bothering to wait for an acknowledgment, Miss Hebert turned around, and the swarm reformed to create a path to the entrance. Argento-san finally released his arm and they followed Miss Hebert into the church.

As they walked in, Issei looked around. At the edges of the room there were dozens of bodies lying on the floor in a line. Walking around the perimeter inspecting them was a small girl with short white hair whom Issei recognized as a first year named Koneko Toujou. Seated on the back of one of the pews and facing the door was a smiling Akeno. Rias was standing on the raised platform at the end of the room.

As they reached the center, Issei heard a noise behind them and turned around to see the prince of the school, Yuuto Kiba, walking in behind them.

Issei turned back around when Miss Hebert spoke again. "Rias, this is Asia Argento, former Living Saint of the Catholic church and holder of Twilight Healing. Asia, this is Rias Gremory, heir to the prestigious Gremory clan and sister of Lucifer."

Rias quirked her head. "A nun, huh? Why are you here?" Her voice darkened. "And what are you doing hanging around with her, Issei?"

Asia stepped forward and Issei went to follow, but stopped short when Miss Hebert stepped in front of him and gently pulled him away.

Issei watched as Asia walked forward. Her head was turned, surveying the bodies around the room.

"Are they d-dead?" Asia's voice was unsteady but clear.

Rias' expression belied no emotion. "They're just unconscious."

Issei could hear Asia release a breath. More steadily she said, "Are there any serious injuries?"

Rias glanced over at Koneko, who spoke up in a monotone, "The exorcists all have superficial wounds and most probably have concussions. Two of the Fallen have electrical burns, and I haven't noticed anything on the other two."

"How about the rest of you? I can heal devils as well."

Issei could just make out a flash of confusion cross Rias' face before it disappeared, replaced by a mild frown. "Enough of this; what are you doing here? And why did you bring that boy?"

"I was exc-" Asia's voice hitched. The girl took a deep breath, speaking once more unsteadily, "I was excommunicated by the ch-church. Raynare offered me s-sanctuary and I came here to meet with h-her."

She glanced back, and Issei could just make out tears in her eyes. "I can't speak Japanese, so I got lost. Issei was k-kind enough to show me the way."

"Are you expecting me to believe that you bringing Issei to the very person that tried to kill him just yesterday was a coincidence?"

Asia gasped. "She tried to kill him! That's horrible! Why would she do that?"

Issei saw Rias' frown deepen slightly as Asia turned around to look at him and bowed. "I'm so sorry, Issei. I didn't know that you helping me could put you in danger."

Rias spoke before Issei could respond, "So you're claiming that you had no knowledge of what the Fallen were doing here, and that Issei's presence is just a coincidence?"

Asia turned back towards Rias. "Yes, I just arrived in Kuoh earlier today. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and bumped into Issei over in a shopping district."

"Do you have any evidence of this?" Rias asked.

Asia paused a moment. "I have my tickets for the plane and the train I took to get here..." The girl quickly ducked down to rummage through her suitcase, pulling out some papers.

Rias nodded and Kiba walked forward, taking the papers from the girl and delivering them to Rias. She spent a moment inspecting them before looking back up at Asia. "I'll be looking into this later, but for now I'll believe your claim. You said that you came to meet with this Raynare, correct?"

She paused a moment and Issei saw Asia nod before Rias continued, "I can't let you to do that right now. If you want, I can take you into custody with the rest of the exorcists here and you'll be released to the Grigori once this mess has been sorted out and the terms have been negotiated. Otherwise, I'll require you to leave Kuoh immediately."

Asia just stood there a moment. When she spoke again, her voice was so quiet Issei had to strain himself to hear. "Did they really try and kill Issei?"

"Among others."

More loudly, Asia said, "Then I don't want to go with them."

Rias stayed silent for a while, scrutinizing Asia, who shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. After a while, she seemed to come to a decision and nodded to herself. "In that case, my Queen will escort you to the train station and purchase you a ticket to a city of your choice." Rias' tone was obviously a dismissal.

Asia turned back towards him, and Issei could see light glistening from the tears that trailed down her cheeks. Issei gathered himself and spoke as confidently as he could, "Rias, you said that me having a Sacred Gear make me valuable, right?"

Rias turned her attention towards him, a curious expression on her face. "It does."

He took a deep breath. "Then if I agreed to become a member of you peerage, would you give Asia a place to stay as payment?"

Asia spoke up, "You don't need to make a deal to help me, Issei."

"No," Issei said, meeting her eyes, "but I want to."

This time it was Rias who replied, "But why do you want to? If we hadn't been here you could have easily died from helping her."

Issei paused a moment to collect his thoughts. "When I was helping her, she told me that she had nowhere else to go, and I saw the pain on her face as she said it. I can't imagine having nowhere to call home."

This time both Rias and Miss Hebert studied his face intently. A moment later, Rias replied, "I'll consider it. In the meantime I'll allow Asia to stay in a room at my manor. Is that acceptable, Asia?"

Asia looked at him. "You don't need to throw away your humanity for me, Issei. I can find my own place to call home."

"Honestly I was already considering becoming a devil for, um..." Issei felt a flush come to his cheeks, "other reasons. Helping you would just be a bonus."

The petite girl looked back towards Rias. "I'd want to discuss this further, but still, thank you for the room tonight."

"Alright then. Taylor and Akeno will take you back to my manor and show you to your room. I'll be back once these," Rias gestured at the line of unconscious people, "have been picked up. Issei, you should go home for the evening; we'll resume this discussion tomorrow after school."

* * *

Asia looked around the bedroom she had been given. The room was huge, with a heavy looking desk in one corner, and the far wall had been replaced by a bookshelf stuffed with tomes of all sizes. In the center of the room lay the largest bed Asia had ever seen.

Slightly intimidated by the obvious display of wealth, Asia looked for a place to put her luggage, opening a door to the side and walking into a closet that was itself larger than the room she'd had back at the convent. Setting her suitcase down on a wardrobe, she opened it and pulled out her bible before walking back to the bedroom.

Asia was starting to flip through the bible as she sat down on the bed, but had to stop as she sank into the mattress. The bed was heavenly, by far the softest one she had ever felt. She took a moment to fall back and indulge in the luxurious softness. Sleeping on this would be more comfortable than sleeping on her bed back at the convent, let alone the two weeks she spent sleeping on the streets after she had been excommunicated.

That thought killed her enjoyment, and she pushed herself back up. Her life had been hell since she had healed that devil. When the church had excommunicated her, they had left her with nothing but her clothes. The people she had known her whole life, the people she had been raised by, would not so much as talk to her anymore.

By the time the Fallen had found her, she had been half starved, sleep deprived, and filthy. They took her in and gave her some food and an actual bed to sleep in. When they had offered to take care of her, she had agreed almost without hesitation, reasoning that they couldn't be too bad - they were still angels, after all. Then she arrived in Kuoh only to find out that her savior had tried to kill a kid.

Now she had no idea what to do. She didn't want to live on the streets again, especially somewhere she could not speak the language, but she would not work with someone who would kill such a nice boy. The boy's offer had bought her a night, but she couldn't allow him to throw away his humanity for her sake, could she?

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she shut the bible and got off the bed, instead kneeling beside it. She knew she had been removed from His graces, but praying had always calmed her down when she was upset or lost. So, silently, Asia prayed for guidance from a God she was certain would never listen.

* * *

A/N: As always thanks to GlassGirlCeci for all her help, and a special thanks to MWKillKenny84 for providing the Italian lines.


	16. Negotiations Part 2

Asia poked her head out of the door and quickly looked around the hall to see if anyone was present. Seeing that the coast was clear, she clutched her suitcase to her chest and hurried out. After a fitful night of sleep, she had come to the conclusion that she couldn't allow Issei to throw away his humanity for her sake, and that it would be best for everyone if she just disappeared.

Quickly turning a corner, Asia found herself face to face with a young girl, and she let out a startled yelp, dropping her suitcase. The girl on the other hand let out a piercing scream and backed away, stumbling and sprawling to the floor.

"Oh! Are you alright?" Asia asked, stepping over her suitcase. "If you got hurt I can heal you..."

The girl didn't respond; instead she just started scooting away, her eyes fixed on Asia's chest. Looking down, Asia saw the crucifix hanging from her neck. Slowly, she removed it and placed it on her dropped luggage. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to know if you got hurt in the fall."

The girl looked up at Asia. "W-who are you? Why are you here?"

Asia smiled comfortingly. "I am Asia Argento. Rias let me stay the night, and I was looking for the exit so I could be on my way."

"Oh...you're a guest?" The girl seemed to relax slightly, though she didn't take her eyes off Asia as she warily climbed to her feet. "I guess that makes sense, but you're going the wrong way if you were trying to get to the entrance."

"Could you tell me how to get there?" Asia asked. "It was pretty late when I got here and I don't know the layout of the house."

The girl finally gave Asia a nervous smiled. "I'll just take you there; it's easier than it would be to tell you."

Asia knelt down to grab her luggage, carefully storing her crucifix before standing back up. "Thank you, umm…"

The girl quickly replied, "Oh, I'm Gasper Vladi, one of Rias' Bishops. If you would follow me."

Asia followed Gasper through a dizzying array of corridors before stopping at a large ornate door. As she opened the door, Gasper said, "Here is the entrance. Is there anything you would like me to…"

Gasper paled and her voice cut off as the door swung open, revealing Rias' Queen standing in the doorway, a bag of groceries in one hand.

"T-Taylor, what are you d-doing home?" the girl asked, her voice quaking.

Taylor replied with a calm smile, "I took the day off from work to watch over our guest. What are you doing out, Gasper? It's rare to see you leave your room."

Gasper flinched at the question. "I was h-hungry and was g-going to the k-kitchen."

The Queen lifted up the bag she was carrying. "Well, I will be making breakfast for our guest. Would you like to join us?"

Gasper quickly shook her head. "N-no. I'll just g-grab something and return t-to my room."

Asia noticed just the slightest hint of pain enter Taylor's gaze at the response, but the Queen just nodded. "Alright then, you're welcome to come join us if you change your mind."

With that, Gasper rushed off in the other direction, and Asia found herself the sole recipient of the unnerving Queen's attention. "So, where were you planning on going?"

"I…" Asia paused, trying to come up with a good answer. "I don't know. I just can't allow Issei to throw away his humanity for me."

"Then don't accept the offer," Taylor responded.

"I don't know if I will be able to refuse." Asia felt her voice weaken, "I'm not sure I will be able to survive living on the streets again."

"Well, regardless, I can't let you leave, as you're a known associate of someone who sent an assassin to a school filled with children. You'll just have to figure out what you want to do when the offer comes later." Taylor stepped into the entranceway, shutting the door behind herself. "Now come, let's go drop your bag back in your room, then I'll make you breakfast."

* * *

After an admittedly tasty breakfast and lunch, Asia found herself waiting in the study reading her bible when someone walked in. Looking up Asia saw Rias coming towards her with a few files in hand.

The devil sat across from Asia, placing her files on the table. Hesitantly Asia shut her bible and did her best to quell her nervousness. Rias' gaze seemed to pause on the holy book before moving up and meeting her own.

"According to Taylor, you don't wish to accept Issei's offer. Is that correct?"

Asia felt a pit form in her stomach at the issue being brought up so directly. "I don't know. I just...don't feel comfortable with Issei throwing away his humanity for me. He barely even knows me."

Rias' expression did not change. "Well, I have some new information to share with you that may help with your decision, as well as another offer if you are interested."

Clutching her bible, Asia nodded.

"Firstly, you will be happy to learn that I've verified your story and now believe you were only peripherally involved in Raynare's activities. On behalf of devilkind, I would like to sincerely apologize for the pain helping one of us has caused you."

Rias paused a moment, but Asia didn't reply, so she continued, "Secondly, I have received a report from the interrogators assigned to Raynare, and they've uncovered her plans for you. She was intending to use the device she had stashed in the basement to take your Sacred Gear for herself, resulting in your death."

This got a gasp out of Asia. "She was going to kill me."

Asia felt her breath quicken and looked away, running a shaky hand through her hair. The angel that had arranged to have her saved from the street had just done it to kill her herself. It fit with what she had done to Issei, but it hurt to know that she had been picked up just to be discarded, again.

She was pulled from her panicked thoughts by the feeling of a hand resting on her own. Looking up, she saw Rias with a concerned expression leaning forward saying something. She forced herself to listen. "—to calm down and take a deep breath, Asia. If you keep hyperventilating, you'll pass out."

Asia took a deep breath and steadied herself. "I'm sorry," she said meekly.

Rias gave her a comforting smile. "Don't worry about it; you've been through a lot lately. Would you prefer we finish this another time?"

Asia shook her head. "No, I want to keep going."

"Alright. As things are, you have a few choices for what to do next. The first is that you accept Issei's offer. If you do so, I will provide you an apartment and a stipend to cover your living expenses; I can also get you enrolled at Kuoh Academy to help you with your education and transition to Japan, if you wish. You will, of course, be free to leave at any time if you find yourself dissatisfied, and will owe nothing back."

Asia took another deep breath and spoke up, "I still don't think I can accept. I'm just not comfortable with Issei doing that for me."

Rias paused, examining her for a moment. "Are you sure? I'm pretty sure Issei will agree to become a devil regardless of your choice here."

Asia took a moment to answer, but decided that her convictions were worth more than her comfort. "I'm sure."

"Then moving on," Rias continued, "your second option is to go on your own. I'll pay for a ticket to take you anywhere in the world, or you could stay here if you wish, but I won't provide any assistance beyond that."

Asia winced and clutched her bible harder at the thought of being on the street again, but soldiered on, "I guess I will do that... thank you for buying me a ticket. Would you at least be willing to allow me to stay long enough to say goodbye to Issei?"

Rias raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I haven't told you the third option yet."

"What third option?" Asia asked feeling confused.

"Your third option is to make a deal with me directly." Rias paused for a moment as she opened a file and pulled out a small stack of papers. "You agree to stay in Kuoh and provide healing for me, my peerage, and any clients I send your way, and I will pay you a retainer of one hundred million yen a year, as well as providing you the same apartment I offered with Issei's deal. Once again, if you find yourself dissatisfied, you would be free to leave at any point and keep whatever you have already earned."

Asia found herself feeling overwhelmed and asked the first question that came to mind, "Is one hundred million yen a lot? It sounds like a big number."

Rias answered with a businesslike tone, "It's more than seven hundred sixty thousand euros a year."

The answer didn't do anything to placate the feeling. "I don't know how much that is either."

Asia saw a small smile tug at the corners of Rias' lips. "I think if you accept I'll also put you in contact with a lawyer I know; she'll be able to help you manage that much money. Anyway, here is the contract for you to read over at your leisure. You're welcome to stay here until you make your decision."

Asia had already made up her mind. The church had abandoned her, the Fallen wanted to use her as a sacrifice...maybe the devils would finally show her kindness. At least they were upfront about what they wanted her to do for them. "I'll accept. I don't have anywhere else to go."

Rias paused for a moment, giving Asia a look that was reminiscent of the one Taylor had given her earlier this morning. "I think that I'll also ask Ito-san to go over why you should actually read a contract before accepting it. How about we do an informal agreement for now, and then we can start to go over the details? Does that work for you?"

Rias put out her hand and Asia bit her lip. Reluctantly letting go of her bible, Asia shook hands with the devil sitting across from her.

* * *

Issei felt a nervous excitement shoot through him as he knocked on the door to Rias' manor. The nervous energy peaked with each bang from his knock. Today was quite likely the last day he would spend as a human, and leaving that behind would be the first step towards realizing his dream.

Hastily, Issei crushed down the sentiment. Making sure that Asia got taken care of out of this deal was more important. Taking a deep breath, Issei almost jumped a solid foot as he heard a low giggle in front of him.

Looking up, he saw the door to the manor now open with Akeno standing in it, a sly smile on her lips. "Welcome, Issei. Are you here to see your little girlfriend?"

Issei gave a confused frown, but before he could respond, Akeno giggled again and stepped inside. "Well, follow me. I'll get the translation spell on you again and then take you to Asia and Rias."

The mention of the girls immediately brought back the nervous energy, but Issei followed obediently.

Entering the study, Issei saw Asia sitting on the couch, eyeing an intimidating stack of papers apprehensively. Across from her was Rias with her back to him, and in the corner sat Miss Hebert at a desk with her own stack of papers, a bright red pen in hand.

A moment after he entered the room, Asia looked up, a relieved smile brightening her face. She quickly jumped to her feet and walked over to him. "Issei, I made a deal with Rias so I can stay here. You don't have to become a devil for me!"

Issei's felt the energy drain out of him, replaced by cold disappointment. His whole day had been building up to this moment, and then it just didn't happen. He opened his mouth to say something, but all the words died on his tongue. Finally, he was able to get out a pitiful, "But I wanted to become a devil."

Asia's smile faded. "I know you told me that earlier, but I couldn't let you do it for me." The former nun clutched the crucifix on her neck. "I don't think it would be right."

Still unsure what to say, Issei asked, "Would you still like me if I became a devil?"

Asia's face turned bright red and she let out a meek, "O-of course."

Issei felt a bit a relief but was pulled out of the feeling by muffled laughter suddenly filling the room. Looking up, he saw Rias looking at the two of them with her hand covering her mouth. Glancing behind, he saw Akeno, her eyes practically gleaming as she looked at him. Out of the corner of his eye he even saw Miss Hebert turning their way before she turned back and started packing up her papers.

Glancing over back at Asia, he noticed that she had somehow achieved an even deeper shade of red, and her stance seemed to be wobbling. Issei reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder to help support her, but at the contact she made a squeaking sound and appeared back on the couch so fast Issei could have sworn she teleported.

He heard more giggles from behind, but he ignored them as he opened his mouth to ask Asia if something was wrong. Before the words got out, though, Miss Hebert spoke up, "Well, Asia, I think Rias has some business with Issei. How about I take you back to your room and you can finish going over the deal another time?"

Asia nodded quickly before hastily gathering up the stack of papers on the desk and following Miss Hebert out the door.

Stunned by Asia's quick escape, Issei didn't even react as Rias spoke, "Honestly Issei, I was hesitant to refuse you a second time, but I couldn't accept that offer if Asia wasn't comfortable with it. I would still like you to join my peerage if we can come to an agreement."

"Um…" Issei paused for a moment, attempting to reorient himself to the new direction for the conversation. "No—I mean yes, I would still like to join your peerage."

Rias gestured for him to sit on the couch Asia just vacated. "Well then, what do you want in exchange?"

Issei blinked at the question as he sat down. "What?"

"You made a good point when you made your original offer. I'm asking you to join my peerage due to your particular skills, so it would only make sense that I compensated you for them." Her small smile grew as she continued, "Honestly, you bringing up that point makes me feel better about you joining my peerage; it shows you're already thinking like a proper devil."

"But I don't know what else I want. Becoming a devil is the path to my dream."

Rias looked like she was about to speak up, but Akeno intervened, a sly smile on her face, "How about: if you join our peerage, I will let you take part in one of my sessions?"

Issei felt his stomach twist at the suggestion. Akeno's sessions were legendary among the boys at Kuoh. The participants refused to say what occurred during them they entailed, but they all agreed that they would do anything to have a repeat performance. Issei spoke up quickly, "I'll take that."

Rias' smile grew strained and her eye started twitching as she turned towards Akeno. "Thank you for your assistance, Akeno."

Akeno returned the attention with a smile of perfect innocence. "Don't worry about it, Rias. It will be my pleasure."

"I am well aware." Rias turned her attention back to Issei, her eye still twitching. "Is there anything else you want? That's a small compensation."

Issei wracked his brain for a moment before coming up with an idea. "Will you help my family? My dad is always complaining about the mortgage."

Rias' smile softened. "Of course, I'll make sure they're well taken care of." As she spoke, an intricate circle appeared next to her. She stuck her arm into it and pulled out a folder and a pen. Opening the folder, she started writing. After a moment, she shut the folder and pushed it over toward Issei. "Here is a preliminary contract for you to go over. We can finalize the details after you finish reading it."

Issei eyed the folder warily, wondering if this was the reason Asia had escaped the room so quickly.

* * *

Issei's head was spinning with clauses and rules and exceptions as he followed Rias throughout the manor. The paperwork had taken a couple of hours to complete, but he had signed it and finalized his contract with Rias. At this point, he just wanted to become a devil already.

Rias walked over to a door and gestured for him to open it. Issei paused and asked, "Is this where you're going to turn me into a devil?"

Rias smiled comfortingly. "It is. Are you certain that this is what you want? If you refuse now I can still tear up the contract."

Issei felt the nervousness from earlier return to him, but he stepped forward anyway and opened the door—only to be greeted with a dining room full of people.

In the center of the room was a large table with a cake. On one side sat Koneko, her eyes focused intently on the cake. Next to her sat Kiba, Akeno, and a nervous looking Asia. Issei's attention, though, was immediately drawn to the other side of the table, where Miss Hebert sat speaking with…

Issei turned to Rias and whispered loudly, "What are my parents doing here?"

Rias gave him a dry look in return. "You didn't think I was going to change your species without getting your parents' permission, did you? Honestly, they've been surprisingly receptive to the idea; they mostly seemed happy that it meant you were going to spend time with people other than Matsuda and Motohama."

Issei walked in the room and went to go greet his parents. As he walked forward, he heard Rias whisper, "Welcome to the family Issei. I hope this is the right choice for both of us."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you as always to the wonderful GlassGirlCeci who continues in her tireless efforts to make my ramblings into something readable.

This chapter took a while both because I had a really hard time making the dialog work at all (and I still don't think I quite made it, but I decided it was close enough so I could get to writing the parts of the story I am excited to write again) and because I got a new job and moved while I was writing it. The next chapter will be a few slice of life shorts strung together that ends with the kickoff of the next major arc.


	17. Proposal

Issei excitedly walked into the old school building. Yesterday was his final day of detention so today was going to be his first day of true club activities. Despite having now been a devil for a couple of weeks his life wasn't really any different than it had been as a human so far. The only thing he had even done as a devil so far was the training session with Miss Hebert last weekend, where she had helped him unlock his Sacred Gear.

He shuddered at the thought, the training had been… intense. But at least it was effective, by the end of the weekend he had left with the ability to manifest the gauntlet that was his sacred gear with a thought, as well as a strong desire to purge Australia of all its insect life for the good of all mankind. And devilkind. And, probably, angelkind as well. No one deserved to face that.

His Sacred Gear was the other reason he was excited for today. They hadn't yet identified what it was but Rias had been researching it ever since he had shown it to her and Miss Hebert had told him that he would be informed on what it could do tonight.

Issei opened the door to the clubroom and was greeted by the low sounds of activity. In the center of the room sat Rias with a pleased expression on her face, across from her was Akeno, her brow furrowed as she looked down at a chess board sitting between them. Off to the side was Kiba sitting cross legged on the floor with his eyes closed, across his lap lay a sword whose shape and color kept changing. In the back of the room he was surprised to see Asia hunched over a desk, beside her was Koneko pointing at something on a paper in front of Asia while she nibbled on a cookie in her other hand. To Asia's other side sat Miss Hebert, crossing something out on a paper of her own.

As Issei stepped into the room Miss Hebert greeted him without looking up from her paper and suddenly every other set of eyes in the room pivoted focusing on him. Rias stood to opening her mouth to say something but was unable to speak before Asia rushed past pulling Issei into a hug and said in perfect Japanese "Issei-kun! I'm so happy to see you again!"

Issei stood stunned as Asia released the hug. Forcing himself to focus on what she had been saying and not what had just been pressed up against him, he responded with a smile, "Asia-san, what are you doing here? And how can you speak Japanese?"

Asia smiled back and raised her wrist showing Issei a bracelet, "Hebert-san got this for me, it is enchanted with a translation spell. I promised to get tutoring in Japanese so I won't need it eventually but I wanted to start going to school with you as soon as possible."

As Issei prepared to respond he was interrupted by a coughing noise, he turned to the noise only to see the rest of the rooms occupants looking at them with amused smiles on their faces. Issei felt his face suddenly heat up and he saw Asia go bright red out of the corner of his eye.

The former nun quickly returned to her seat and Rias spoke, excitement slipping into her voice, "I'm glad you're here Issei-kun, are you ready to find out what your Sacred Gear will allow you to do?"

Issei nodded excitedly and summoned the clawed red gauntlet over his right hand. Rias' voice rang out "That is the Boosted Gear. It contains the soul of Ddraig the Red Dragon Emperor and is one of the 13 Longinus. Since it is a Longinus I I still don't know the total scope of its abilities but its most famous one is the power to double the users strength every ten seconds."

Issei felt a spike of confusion, "What is a Longinus?"

Kiba answered the question, his eyes fixed on the gauntlet, "The Longinus are the thirteen most powerful Sacred Gears. Each is said to be powerful enough to kill a god."

Issei felt his eyes go wide and looked down shocked at the gauntlet. It didn't look like a god killing weapon, but he supposed he had never seen one before so he shouldn't know how one looked. Glancing up he saw everyone else in the room's eyes locked on the Sacred Gear, with two exceptions. Akeno, who after swapping the positions of two pieces on the chess board looked up and winked at him and Miss Hebert whose eyes met his, a sad smile on her face.

Issei dismissed the Gear, finally breaking the silence of the room. Asia was the first to speak her eyes sparkling with wonder, "That's amazing, Issei-kun!"

Kiba spoke next, a pleased grin on his face, "To think you would be a Longinus user. I look forward to sparring with you."

Koneko seemed to appraise him for a second before just saying, "Surprising." and going back to her cookie.

Finally Miss Hebert spoke up, "That is a lot of power to wield. We are going to need to put some time into training in order for you to properly use and control it."

Rias nodded at Miss Hebert's words, "I agree with Taylor, that is why I want you to spend the next few weeks training after school. Each day one of us will meet you here and help you get used to your powers. I don't want you forming contracts or going on missions until you are ready."

Issei felt a pang of confusion. Contracts? Like that monstrous thing Rias made him sign? Was being a devil going to involve lots of paperwork? He wasn't sure he liked the sound of that.

His worry must have shown on his face since Miss Hebert said, "Don't worry about missions or contracts right now Issei, you'll be ready for them when the time comes. For today I should probably get started on your suit."

As soon as the word suit left Miss Hebert's lips the mood of the room took a sharp turn. Rias and Akeno both started speaking over one another about prior engagements they needed to get to. Koneko seized Asia by the wrist and dragged her out of the room without so much as a word. When Issei glanced over at where Kiba had been standing the boy had disappeared.

Now alone in the room with Miss Hebert and with a growing feeling of apprehension Issei turned to her and asked, "What's this about a suit?"

Miss Hebert responded with a smile that failed to reduce his worry and said, "I'll tell you in a bit, but first how did this morning go?"

Issei frowned, he had been hoping to just be able to move on after apologizing to the Kendo club this morning but it seemed it wasn't going to end so easily.

"They didn't seem like they wanted to beat me so it was an improvement over the last time I saw them as a group, but I don't think they forgave me."

Miss Hebert afixed Issei with one of her piercing gazes, "Should they have?"

Issei's immediate reaction was the affirmative, he really did feel bad about his actions after all but he paused and thought about the question before answering. "I don't know. I really do regret what I tried to do but they don't know that and I haven't given them a lot of reasons to believe that. Plus the apology was part of my punishment so they have no way to know that it was real… Probably not now that I think about it."

"Good, I'm glad you understand that the consequences of your choices don't go away just because you have been punished. Your punishment is over so you are squared away with the school but that doesn't mean everyone else has to forgive you, and some of them never will."

The word felt like a punch to the gut for Issei but when he looked up Miss Hebert was giving him a reassuring smile, "All you can do is to be better. Things are looking up for you, you've already found a girl that likes you. So don't mess it up now, okay?"

Issei felt his eyes go wide at her words, "There is a girl that likes me! Who is it?"

The look Miss Hebert gave him made him feel like he had just said the dumbest thing ever spoken by man. Slowly she lowered her head into her palm and and let out a beleaguered sigh. "I think I'll let you and her sort that one out. In the meantime let's get started on your suit."

Issei felt the apprehension begin to creep back into him. Trying to keep it out of his voice he asked, "What is this about a suit?"

Taylor walked over to the desk pulling out a pad of paper and a pen. "Fights between supernatural beings are vicious affairs. So I weave suits out of spider silk for members of the peerage."

"Isn't spider silk stronger than steel?" Seeing Miss Hebert nod in affirmation Issei continued, "That's so cool. So the suits are like super light suits of armor?"

"They help a bit but, honestly, as a devil you will be more durable than the suit soon enough."

Issei frowned, "Then why make them?"

"Because while you will be quite durable your clothes won't be. It is not uncommon in fights between supernatural beings for everyone to end up naked halfway through."

Issei felt heat flood his cheeks at the thought of seeing the members of his peerage naked, followed by abject terror at the thought of them seeing him. Forcing the thought out of his head he asked, "How do we start?"

Miss Hebert answered, her expression serious, "First I'll need to get your measurements."

Issei felt his blush strengthen, "So I'll need to strip?"

"No, I have a much more effective method."

Issei let out a relieved breath, "Oh, is it some kind of spell?"

Miss Hebert smiled, "Nope, it's much simpler than that, I'm just going to cover you in spiders."

"Oh…"

Issei dropped into an all out sprint.

He never even made it to the door.

* * *

Taylor felt the wind through her hair as she hovered in the sky high above the school. The air carried a comforting chill that pulled the tension of the day's work away from her. Sometimes she found it odd that her current life produced any tension, being a teacher was a far step from working non stop to prevent the end of the world, but apparently stress was a constant in life regardless of the scope of your goals.

While the best part of becoming a devil was the fact that she was resurrected and once again had control of her body, getting to fly under her own power was a close second. At least once a week she would go out and just fly. She had to do it at night and stay near the school or surrounding forest so that that the enchantments would stop people from seeing her, but even with the limitations nothing could compare to the feeling of freedom flying granted her.

Taking a final deep breath of the cold air Taylor started descending towards the old school building. As she approached she set her swarm to work discreetly scanning through the building for irregularities. She was surprised to find most of the peerage sitting around the club room talking. Rias was going to take Issei to get his familiar today and they should have already left.

Landing Taylor quickly made her way to the club room to find out what had changed. As she opened the door Rias greeted her, "Taylor, how was your flight?"

"Relaxing as always." Taylor responded, smiling back, " I'm surprised you all are still here, shouldn't you be at the Familiar Forest by now?"

Rias winced, "When the guides found out it was me making the request they asked for an extra hour to 'prepare'."

At that moment Issei spoke up, "Oh, I know how about you come with us Miss Hebert. With your bugs we should have no problem finding me the coolest familiar!"

Taylor suppressed a wince as Akeno jumped on the excuse to begin telling her favorite story, "Taylor can't come along, she was banned from the Familiar Forest."

Issei's eyes went wide, "Why? What happened?"

Taylor answered quickly, cutting off Akeno's response. "There was an incident when I went there to get my familiar. It caused some damage to the local ecosystem so they decided that it would be better if I did not attend any future trips to the forest."

Rias gave her a flat look "'Some' damage? Half the forest burned down. They still send me passive aggressive letters detailing the long term ecological impacts of that 'incident'. Just last month I got one informing me that they still have been unable to reintroduce slimes to the ecosystem, and it's been five years."

Taylor shunted her reaction to the swarm but from the feeling of her cheeks she wasn't fast enough to completely stop her blush, "That part really wasn't my fault, and I would argue that it qualifies as an improvement anyway."

Rias' tone got even drier somehow, "Perhaps, but I'm still the one who has to deal with the fallout."

Taylor decided that the subject of this conversation really needed to be changed, "Anyway it's been about an hour since your scheduled appointment, you should probably get going."

Happily Rias agreed and they formed their circle and departed to the underworld. Taylor let out a little sigh of relief as they left, she preferred not to be around for the telling of that particular tale, it had not been her finest moment.

With the rest of the peerage gone Taylor went to her desk only to find three envelopes sitting on top. Sitting down she checked the first letter and saw that it was from the Devil's research division. Opening it up she saw what she was expecting, her quarterly report on the progress they had made into contacting other dimensions.

Glancing through the report she saw exactly what she had been expecting. It had been a year and a half since the team had successfully breached the dimensional barrier but so far they had been unable to successfully pass anything through the portal.

The problem was that there were so many other dimensions in existence that nanoscopic variations in the structure of the circle would change the dimension that the portal was targeting. Since the variations of the circles were so small it had proven impossible for anyone to maintain a portal that did not rapidly flicker through billions of alternate dimensions.

The current plan of the team was to have a circle physically fashioned out of a metal called mythril. The metal was apparently nigh indestructible physically and had the property of being a magical conductor. Their hope was that since the circle was a physical object it would allow them to just pump energy into it and create a portal to whatever dimension the physical layout of the circle happened to connect to rather than forcing someone to have enough focus to maintain a stable circle on a nanoscopic scale in their head.

According to the report they should receive the circle in the next quarter and then they would find out if it would work. Glancing at the expected arrival date Taylor made a note to arrange for herself to be present for the test. She wanted to be there when they made a usable portal to another dimension, even if she knew it would be near useless for her own goals. Ajuka had done the math, with the number of alternate earths in existence the odds of her finding a single specific gas molecule on Jupiter were astronomically higher than the odds of her finding a specific alternate Earth. Barring someone figuring out an extremely efficient method to scan the multiverse finding Earth Bet in her lifetime, let alone her father's remaining years, was effectively impossible.

Taylor grimaced slightly, she did know of one being that could possibly find it, but she wasn't sure if it was worth the risk to herself or her new home to do what would be necessary to make use of that option.

Putting down the report she grabbed the second envelope and again got what she was expecting. This one was a report on the status and earnings of her lands.

Upon her successful completion of the exam for her to become a Middle-Class devil Rias' parents had granted her a tiny portion of their lands as a gift. Of course, while the gift was given honestly the real point of it was the title that came with it. Taylor was now a Baronetess, and thus the Gremorys had ensured that their daughter's Queen had the highest ranking noble title a Middle-Class devil could achieve.

While in many ways the gift had been more to Rias than Taylor, the lands that she had been granted were profitable and after some extensive modifications to the manor she had a base of operations in the underworld. For the actual running of the land she had left Odette, the steward who the Gremorys had appointed to the land, in charge of the day to day decisions, only really involving herself when it was necessary. From what Taylor had seen Odette had been competent and trustworthy, dutifully overseeing the only policy change Taylor had decreed, an increase in funding for the orphanage on her land, and running the land with a businesslike efficiency.

Taylor quickly read through the report making a note of her income for the month and finding nothing of import before setting it down with the first and checking the third envelope. Opening it she found a handwritten letter. Quickly she read through the letter. A moment later she read through it a second time, much slower.

Standing up Taylor created her own portal to the underworld. She needed to ask Sirzechs some pointed questions about how the hell Rias' wedding had been moved up five full years.

* * *

Sirzechs felt a strong need to slam his head into his desk repeatedly until the idiocy surrounding stopped, or at least until he was dumb enough to want to put up with it. Currently he needed to figure out how to stop the Valac and Uvall clans from killing each other over a strip of forest that no one in their right mind gave two damns about. The world was on the brink of disaster, there were rumors about a splinter group in the fallen seeking to restart the great war, reports about that the Old Satan faction was mobilizing and allying themselves with some group that called themselves the Khaos Brigade of all things, and by far most importantly the fact that his baby sister was about to be married off. And instead of getting to deal with any of those world shattering events he was stuck here figuring out how to settle a land dispute.

He had just about decided to fly over and to the forest and atomize the offending section of land with the Power of Destruction when he heard his vents start to buzz. Sirzechs felt relieved, at least he would get to use part of today on something important and passed instructions to allow Taylor up to his office.

A few minutes later a Taylor walked into his office, a blank expression on her face. As soon as the door was shut Taylor spoke, "Why was the wedding rescheduled for later this year? The deal was that Rias was going to finish college before the wedding."

Sirzechs grimaced, "Lady Phenex talked mother into it, something about wanting to see her son married before her two thousandth birthday."

"Any way we can force them to go back to the original timeline? Rias is probably about three years away from building enough political connections that she would be able to force the Phenexs to cancel the wedding."

"No, at least not without overstepping my boundaries as Lucifer." Taylor's expression did not change at his answer but the buzzing in the vents increased noticeably. "My mother is being quite insistent, I think she knows what you and Rias are up to and is trying to counter."

Taylor sighed, "Why is your mother so insistent about this marriage anyway? Riser is an ass."

Sirzechs leaned back as he answered, "You know as well as I do that this is a good choice politically. The Phenexs bring a lot of money and a strong bloodline ability to the family and Riser is low ranking enough that there shouldn't be any pressure for father to give the title of clan head to Rias' husband rather than Rias when he abdicates. Plus she is old enough that the concept of nobles marrying for love was pretty much unheard of when she was of marrying age, not to mention the millennium after. I really don't think she understands how thorough a betrayal Rias views this as being."

Taylor nodded in acceptance, "So I'm assuming you have a plan, because currently my best idea is to threaten or blackmail Riser and my guess is that your objections to that course of action still stand."

Sirzechs smiled, Taylor was clever and good at strategy but she did tend to prefer to use direct and simple approaches and then deal with the fallout later. "Yes, Riser aside, the rest of the Phenex family are good people and loyal allies. I would rather not jeopardize my family's relationship with them or cause them undue harm them if it can be avoided. I have convinced my mother that Rias should be given a chance to end the betrothal and she has agreed to a Ratings Game between Rias and Riser to determine its fate. I'm assuming you have helped her prepare her peerage for something like this."

Taylor smiled, "That won't be a problem."

"Good. From what I have heard Lord Phenex is hoping that someone will break it through Riser's thick skull that being a Phenex does not make him invincible as well as humble him a bit so don't feel the need to hold back against him for the sake of politics."

Taylor's smile took on a predatory edge. Sirzechs was about to suggest that maybe she should hold back a little when the door opened and Grayfia stepped into the office. Sirzechs turned to his wife, her beauty bringing a smile to his face just as it always did.

Upon entering Grayfia bowed to him formally and said, "Lord Lucifer, I have information pertaining to the Gremory Phenex situation."

Sirzechs really wished she would be less formal with him in public, though he supposed that it made the times when they were home together just that much more special. Still he followed along with her preferences and kept a professional tone, "Continue, Grayfia."

"Riser has gone to inform Rias of the change in wedding date in person." Sirzechs felt himself pale and saw that Taylor's expression was a mirror of his own.

Taylor turned towards the door, "I need to get back there. Rias should be returning from the Familiar Forest soon and if I'm not there to mediate she might try and disintegrate him."

As Taylor stepped out of the office Sirzechs turned to his wife to see an annoyed look on her face, probably because Taylor left without asking his leave. "Grayfia please go as well, you can inform them of the Ratings Game."

Grayfia gave him a nod and then stepped out of the office herself. Alone again Sirzechs returned to the much less important business of making sure the underworld did not fall to civil war over idiots egos.

* * *

 **A/N:** Tremble before the power of my unholly necromancy! Tremble! Anyway if it wasn't obvious I am once again working on this story. I have a fully complete outline for the entirety of the next arc and my intention is to finish it in a timely manner before completing the first arc of Praetor. So hopefully I will be putting out the next four chapters quickly.

As for this chapter it is not my favorite, especially since it is the one I am reviving the story on, but it is necessary since it contains a lot of setup for upcoming arcs. The next chapter will finish the build up for the arc followed by two (maybe three) chapters of action and then one more dealing with the fallout.

Finally, a special thanks to the people who bugged me to start working on this story again. I probably wouldn't have started again without all of you.

P.S. I am once again looking for a beta reader. If anyone is interested please PM me.


	18. Preparations

Riser appeared out of his circle in the Old School building at Kuoh academy. Glancing around he took in the transportation room. The room was simple, almost spartan, far removed from the obvious displays of wealth that filled most transportation rooms in the underworld. The only furniture contained in it were a chair and a desk meant for a servant, so that they may announce visitors during formal occasions and a magical circle on the floor that forced visitors into this room when they tried to teleport into the building, all the while regulating their entrances to prevent multiple groups from colliding with one another. The room lacked any ornamentation with the exception of the faintly glowing sigil of House Gremory behind the desk. At first glance this room spoke purely of utility, but upon closer inspection the facade broke.

Everything in the room was made of the finest materials money could buy. The control circle was not a temporary thing added for formal occasions but a piece of solid mythril fixed into the design of the desk and chair were simple, but the materials used in their construction wouldn't be out of place in a throne room. This room told all who entered it that they were going to visit the heir of Gremory. The heir of a house of such power that they had no need to try and impress guests with gaudy displays and such wealth that even the most utilitarian things they owned would be beyond the reach of most other families.

Riser felt a smile stretch across his lips, soon that name and the power it commanded would be his as well. Sure the money would be nothing new, the Phenex family was every bit as wealthy as the Gremorys, but the _authority_ granted from being descended from one of the original Dukes of Hell, not to mention being related to the current Lucifer, was something no amount of money could buy.

Riser left the transportation room and began wandering around the building, noticing that there were no signs of occupation. He knew that the proper thing would have been to send out one of his peerage as a messenger to set up a formal meeting with Rias, but if he did that he would never actually get to see her. Rias had made it very clear what she thought of the betrothal as well as what she thought of him personally. The only chance he would have to see her before their marriage would be if she didn't know he was coming.

Still, without sending a messenger first it meant that he was the one that had to waste time trying to find the girl, and that was annoying. Riser checked a room at random and found it to be a comfortable looking study. He entered and lounged on one of the couches deciding to wait half an hour and see if Rias or her peerage showed up in the building.

Riser was considering heading to Rias' manor to wait for her there when he finally heard movement within the house. Riser stood up and smoothed his coat before leaving the room and walking towards the origin of the noise. As he turned the corner he saw the other reason he was anticipating this marriage, Rias herself.

The girl, even by the supernatural standards of devils, was drop dead gorgeous. She was tall and buxom with long legs and a perfect hourglass figure. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with intelligence and provided a striking contrast to her bright red hair. She moved with a level of confidence and grace that befitted one of her status. She was in every way the picture of a high born devil lady, and soon she would be his as well.

Around Rias stood her peerage, with the exception of her Queen. Her Bishop and Rook were each quite beautiful in their own right. Looking at them, Riser started considering the rumors he'd heard. They had it that Rias spent most her nights sleeping with her Queen but that had to get old after some time... Maybe he would be able to arrange for them to trade peerage members for a night every once in a while after they were married.

On Rias' right stood a young Japanese man Riser didn't recognize, a dire wolf pup asleep in his arms. He must be a recent addition to her peerage if rumors of him had yet to even begin spreading.

Riser stepped forward and Rias' Rook noticed him, she turned to her King and tapped her on the shoulder, pulling her from the conversation. Then she pointed to him and said, "The pervert is here."

Riser felt a flash of annoyance at that but before he could say anything Rias turned to him, her smile fading. "What are you doing here, Riser? I don't remember receiving a request from you to visit."

Riser gave her a mocking grin and answered, "Do I need a reason to visit my fiancée?"

Out of the corner of his eye he swore he saw the shadows in the room subtly darken. Rias answered his question, her voice dripping contempt and loathing, "It would be in your best interest if you did."

The threat brought a contemptuous smile to his face, after all, what threat could someone offer an immortal like him? His voice oozed arrogance as he lazily replied, "And what will happen if I don't?"

The shadows of the room went pitch black and just for a moment Riser swore he saw her eyes became dark voids of the exact same shade. Around her the rest of her peerage took a defensive formation. But before anything could happen Rias' Queen walked in and the darkness that had engulfed the room disappeared like it was never there.

Riser turned to look at the new arrival. Rias' Queen was in every way an enigma, no trackable history from when she was human, a previously unheard of Sacred Gear, obvious signs of training in tactics and politics. The prevailing theory around the underworld is that she had been secretly taken in by Lucifer at a young age and groomed to be his sister's Queen. Even her appearance was odd, she had been a devil for six years already and she only looked striking rather than truly beautiful, a rarity when it came to devils.

The Queen spoke, "Riser... It is good to hear that you no longer refer to yourself in the third person. It must make talking with you so much more bearable."

Riser suppressed a blush, and silently thanked his sister for showing him how much of a douche he sounded like when he did that. Looking up he saw Taylor's eyes sparkling with mirth as she continued, "Now I am certain you would not enter another devil's territory uninvited without a good reason, Riser, especially not your fiancée's territory. Doing so could be taken as an _insult_ after all."

Riser felt a slight grimace tug at his lips. Taylor was right, it definitely wasn't a severe enough insult that Rias would be able to get the wedding called off over it, but it would allow her to cause problems if she wanted to.

Putting on his best polite smile Riser turned back to Rias, "I am here to deliver wonderful news. Our mothers have come to an agreement and decided that our wedding will be held in two months time."

At his words the room went still and silent, a look of disbelief growing on the face of every peerage member except the new one who had a look of confusion whose expression remained an unreadable mask. Finally Rias spoke, her voice rigid, "Thank you for bringing this to my attention Riser. I am sorry I can't offer you any hospitality but I need to go speak with my mother. Taylor will escort you back to the transportation room so that you may depart."

Riser grinned at her dismissal but before he could get in his last words a circle appeared in the middle of the room and power flowed through. Out of the portal stepped a tall stately woman dressed in a maid outfit, the Ultimate Queen. As she entered she spoke, "That will not be necessary Rias."

Rias turned to her sister-in-law stiffly and gave a slight curtsy, "Welcome Lady Grayfia, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

The Ultimate Queen glanced at himself and Rias before answering, "I am here with news about your upcoming wedding. Due to one of the parties seeking to annul the betrothal it has been agreed that a Ratings Game will be held between the peerages of Rias Gremory and Riser Phenex, the winner will decide the fate of the betrothal."

At Grayfia's words Riser saw the tension drain from Rias. She obviously viewed this as an opportunity to escape the marriage, even if he knew it to be a hopeless one. For himself this was among the best things that could have happened for his position. He was well aware that he would be the one to hold less power in the marriage, his position in society being nowhere near her own, but if he were to publically best her in a Ratings Game right before their wedding it would do much to alleviate that difference. After all while rank and family meant much it always would play second fiddle to personal power when it came to devil society.

Stepping forward, he said, "That sounds entertaining, I have no objections to this game."

Rias responded, her voice sounding far more natural then earlier, "I also have no objections. When shall we meet?"

Riser smirked at her and said, "I believe this will be your first Ratings Game, and you don't have a full peerage yet, is that correct?"

Rias nodded so Riser continued, "Then I shall give you ten days to prepare. I wouldn't want anyone to claim this competition unfair after all."

Rias smiled back at him, "No, I don't think I will take that offer. Grayfia when would be the earliest that we could have this game."

The Ultimate Queen responded, "In two days."

"Then we will face each other in two days time." Rias smile morphed into a grin that reminded him of a fox for some reason, "Unless you need the extra time to prepare, Riser?"

Riser fought down a scowl, he had been hoping she would take the deal. Ten extra days of training would have done nothing to help her peerage but it would have given him time to research their capabilities. She would have a far easier time doing research on him and his peerage given the fact that his previous Ratings Games were part of the public record.

Maintaining his confident smile he answered, "Then we will meet in two days. Please do remember to bring white to wear for the afterparty."

* * *

Riser leaned back in his seat, making himself more comfortable. Tomorrow would be the day he won his marriage to Rias, so tonight he and his peerage were going to have their tactical meeting in preparation for the game. It was a waste of time, of course, Rias was facing him with less than half a peerage and no experience in Ratings Games while he had a full undefeated peerage in addition to his own substantial talents. No matter what she did, tomorrow was going to be a slaughter. Still it was worth taking the time to hold the meeting in order to keep the habit for more difficult games in the future.

At the front of the room stood Isabella, one of his Rooks, looking beautiful but mysterious in her low cut top and mask. Behind her was an image of the Japanese boy Riser had seen yesterday. She glanced around the room and then started speaking.

"This is Issei Hyoudou and that's pretty much everything we know about this kid. He was registered as Rias' only pawn about a month and a half ago, just after that scuffle Rias had with the rogue fallen. Prior to that there is nothing of note about him. Our best guess is that he was killed during the incident with the Fallen and Rias chose to resurrect him with her pieces. Given how little time he has been a devil we aren't expecting much from him tomorrow."

As Isabella began to move on he heard Ravel say that he was cute under her breath. Riser shook his head, his sister had a thing for scruffy looking boys that he just did not understand.

The image behind Isabella shifted to the small form of Rias' Rook. " Koneko Toujou, formerly Shirone Toujou, Rias' only Rook. She is the sister of Kuroka Toujou and one of only two known remaining Nekoshou in existence. There are no confirmed reports where she has been observed using Senjutsu or Youjutsu but as a Nekoshou she has access to them."

He could tell from her voice that Isabella was annoyed, she prided herself on doing proper research into her opponents and not having the time or resources for this game must be grating on her.

Again the image shifted, this time showing a young man that looked like the love interest in a novel aimed at teenage girls, classically handsome with just a hint of damage. "Yuuto Kiba, formerly Isiah, Rias' only Knight. His history is largely unknown beyond the fact that the Church is involved in its cover up. He is the current host for the demonic variant of Sword Birth and is a student of Souji Okita, Knight of Lord Lucifer. Between his training and Sacred Gear we are considering him one of the top priorities to remove."

Now the image was a picture of a raven haired beauty. "Akeno Himejima, one of Rias' Bishops. She was born into Himejima clan of Shinto exorcists but had a falling out at a young age. She was rescued by one of Lord Gremory's Bishops and brought to live at their manor. From reports of peacekeeping activities she has performed in Kuoh we know that she prefers lightning magic but we don't have any ideas about the extent of her capabilities with it."

"Rias is registered as having a second Bishop but according to her submittal for the upcoming game, he will not be participating." Riser scowled at that. Was Rias so arrogant as to think she could best him without bringing her full forces to bear? Still, all that meant was that tomorrow would be an even easier victory.

Next the image turned into the striking form of Rias' Queen. All around him, Riser could hear the sounds of chairs moving as the members of his peerage shifted to give Isabella their full attention. Rias' mysterious Queen was a relatively common topic of gossip in the underworld and it seemed his peerage were hoping that they would learn something new from Isabella's research.

"Taylor Hebert, the Lady of the Flies. No known history. It is presumed that she is from the North Eastern region of the United States based on her accent and appearance but even that is purely speculation. She wields a previously unrecorded Sacred Gear which grants her dominion over insects within an unknown radius around her. What is known is that the Gremorys often send her on assignments where a target needs to be tracked down, it is widely assumed that she has access to the senses of the insects under her command and uses that to assist in tracking. According to devils that have worked with her on assignments she is calm under pressure and has a strong tactical mind, a consummate professional in the field."

Taylor was going to be the largest hurdle tomorrow. He doubted that she would be all that much power in a straight fight since both he and his Queen should have little difficulty clearing out swarms, but her ability to track the movements of his entire peerage meant any fight would be on her terms.

Finally the image changed to Rias herself. "Rias Gremory, the Crimson Ruin Princess. Heir to the Gremory house she possesses the Power of Destruction from her mother's side of the family. From reports of conflicts she has engaged in, it is said that she wields that power with a great deal of control."

The brief over Isabella returned to her seat and Riser walked to the front of the room and addressed his peerage, "Alright the plan for tomorrow seems simple enough. Their largest advantage will be the information that Taylor provides them with, while our largest advantage is experience and numbers." Riser left the advantage that his own immortality presented unsaid. "We should go in expecting ambushes so we will be staying in groups, but from what Isabella presented none of them except Rias, Yuuto, and maybe Taylor will be much of a threat once engaged. Tomorrow, we secure my future!"

He scanned through his peerage deciding what flavor he wanted for tonight before ultimately turning towards his Queen, "Yubelluna you come with me tonight. The rest of you do as you wish to prepare for tomorrow's game."

As Riser walked towards his room with his Queen he felt a smile stretch across his lips. After tomorrow he would be the most powerful man the Phenex clan had ever produced. After all there was no way to defeat an immortal.

* * *

Riser hovered over his territory looking at the recreation of Rias' school in the center of the pocket dimension. The choice in arena for this game was amusing, apparently someone thought a home field advantage would help an incomplete and half trained peerage succeed against him. Shaking his head and smiling he turned his attention back to the situation at hand.

He had sent Mihae, Xuelan and a group of four Pawns to secure the gym. Rias would want to draw the battle into the hallways and classrooms of the school where her peerage's knowledge of the layout and Taylor's ability to track opponents without line of sight would be at their strongest, so the wide open gymnasium was his best choice for a forward base.

Ravel and Isabella were escorting his other four pawns into enemy territory. If they made it, his four Pawns would be able to promote to more useful pieces. But their real purpose was to force Rias' peerage to engage and get pulled into a fight. Between those groups was Yubelluna and his two Knights. Their job was to support whichever group found one of the priority targets.

Riser himself hovered at the back over his own territory. It was a rather meaningless job in this game since Rias had a single barely trained Pawn but giving himself this job meant he allowed his peerage to gain more experience, so it was a small sacrifice to make to give himself a boring job.

Riser breathed in the crisp air. He could almost _see_ his entire future laid out before him. It was one of riches, power, and beautiful women. Soon, everything he had ever wanted in life would be his.

It was then that the gym exploded.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you to FelixInkheart for beta reading. So this chapter was the last of the setup for the game and shows my primary conceit for this arc, it is going to be almost entirely told from the perspective of Riser and his peerage. I hope you all will enjoy it.


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